Great White Shark Captured Yet Again

September 12, 2008

Earlier here I told you about the world's only great white shark on public display. The shark was in a million-gallon tank for just eleven days at California's Monterey Bay Aquarium, where she ate just once. Not wishing to jeopardize her health, the aquarium's staff released the shark into the Santa Barbara Channel six days ago.

(Photo Credits: Randy Wilder/Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Get a load of this...Yesterday a commercial fisherman caught what he described was a "very lively" shark in his fishing net. You guessed it. This is the exact same shark! (Scientists tagged her before setting her free.) The fisherman caught the shark by her tail in the net, which was in use about 22 miles from where the great white had been released.

“From the description the fisherman gave us, she’s in excellent condition,” said Jon Hoech, director of husbandry at the Monterey aquarium. “That’s great news. At the same time, the fact that she was caught is a reminder that young white sharks face very real threats in the ocean.”

In fact, the fisherman had deployed his net to purposefully catch thresher sharks. It was only when he checked his gear at shortly before 7 AM yesterday that he discovered the great white. To his credit, he phoned the aquarium, which instructed him to check the shark's physical condition and then told him to release her back into the water immediately.

“He checked her body and eyes for any injuries, and set her free,” Hoech said. “His description was that she was ‘very lively, a very hot fish.’ He also said that from the appearance of her belly, it looked as if she had recently fed.”

White shark researchers from the aquarium and Stanford University will take part in a white shark webcast on Friday, September 12 at noon Pacific time. Registration information is available here.

Can you believe the life of this shark? I guess the moral of the story is that ordinary creatures, be they human or fish, can be put through extraordinary circumstances due to fate and the actions of others.

Comments

[joe moreira]

Hmmmm.....what was the fisherman doing catching sharks? Aren't they protected?

[Jen Viegas]

The fisherman was targeting other species, I believe, but sharks can get stuck in the nets. Shark bycatch is very common, especially in larger commercial fisheries, and is a major contributor to the shark population decline.