See a Great White Shark Up Close Before It's Too Late

August 28, 2008

The Monterey Bay Aquarium, the only institution to have successfully exhibited great white sharks, has just announced that a new great white went on exhibit there yesterday. This will likely be the last great white you'll be able to view up close until 2011, due to planned renovations at the California aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit.

The young shark is a 4 ½ foot-long female that weighs 55 ½ pounds. She was caught in a seine net off the southern California coast on August 16. The shark was then held in a 4-million-gallon ocean pen off Malibu and, according to aquarium staff, "was observed swimming comfortably and feeding in the pen several times before she was brought to Monterey" in a 3,000-gallon mobile life support transport vehicle.

Four other young white sharks were captured in southern CA by aquarium collectors, but they didn't successfully adapt to the more closed environment and therefore missed out on their chance for a moment in the public spotlight.

Over the years, the aquarium has captured, exhibited and then released three other sharks. It also runs an ongoing White Shark Research Project that, among other things, outfits the top predators with tags so that scientists can monitor their movements, environment and more.

It will be interesting to see how the new great white responds to her aquarium mates. She'll be sharing her digs with Galapagos and scalloped hammerhead sharks, as well as large bluefin and yellowfin tuna, barracuda, ocean sunfish and other species. You might recall that last year's great white there ate a few of its housemates, but hopefully that won't happen again.

The aquarium's executive director, Julie Packard, believes such sharks can serve as powerful ambassadors for great white conservation and research.

“I can’t overstate the impact of this single animal on advancing our mission to inspire conservation of the oceans,” Packard said.

The great white will now enjoy sushi-grade salmon, mackerel and other fish during its stay at the high tech facility in scenic Monterey.

Here are hot-off-the-press photos that tell the great white's story so far:

Monterey Bay Aquarium staff transport a young female white shark down Cannery Row from the transport vehicle to the Outer Bay exhibit on August 27th. © Monterey Bay Aquarium/Kris Ingram

Monterey Bay Aquarium staff place a young female white shark into the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit on August 27th. © Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder

A young female white shark swims in the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit, shortly after her introduction on August 27th. © Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder

The aquarium is open daily through Labor Day from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and on Saturdays and Sundays until 8 p.m. (through August 31). Starting September 2, regular aquarium hours are from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Information on visiting the aquarium is available here.