Bruce, 2008:

"White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) occur worldwide, primarily in coastal temperate and subtropical regions, but are occasional visitors to tropical regions. They are known to make open ocean excursions, and some exchange across ocean basins has been documented by tagging and is supported by genetics data. However, global stock structure is still poorly known, and accurate population assessments are not yet possible for any region. White sharks are naturally low in abundance, have low reproductive potential, are believed to have low natural mortality, and presumably have low capacity for density-dependent compensation to rapid declines in population size.  It is therefore reasonable to conclude that populations are vulnerable to recruitment overfishing and all forms of unnatural mortality.

Pardini et al. (2001) provided evidence of philopatry between Australasian and south-west Indian Ocean populations with exchange mediated males. Bonfil et al. (2005) recorded the return migration of an immature female white shark between South Africa and Australia, indicating that interpopulation exchange may not be restricted to males. Tagging and genetics data suggest that white sharks in Australia-New Zealand waters form a single population (Pardini et al. 2001: Bruce et al. 2006).

White sharks are primarily taken as by-catch in several fisheries worldwide, including longline, gill-net, trawl, and handline/rod-and-reel fisheries (Cliff et al. 1996b; Francis 1996; Uchida et al. 1996; Compagno 2001; Malcolm et al. 2001), but are also opportunistically fished in a few others (for jaws and other curios; CITES 2004).  White sharks have been entrapped after entering finfish aquaculture cages, ending with either their death (Bruce 1999) or, in some recent cases, successful release (K. Roda, South Australian Research and Development Institute, personal communication). Catch statistics for most commercial fisheries are poorly recorded, although some attempts have been made to quantify them (e.g. in Australia by Malcolm et al. 2001). White sharks are (or have been) a target species in sports/game fisheries and are sometimes targeted for their nuisance value (for disrupting fishing operations for other species, even in regions where they are currently protected), for retribution for shark attack (Malcolm et al. 2001), or for the high price paid for fins, jaws, and teeth on the international market (Lai 1983; Chen 1996; and Rose 1996).  White sharks are also target species in shark control programs in both Australia and South Africa (Reid & Krogh 1992; Cliff et al. 1996a, b). However, in some cases, these programs now release live sharks (Cliff et al. 1996a; D. Reid, New South Wales Fisheries, personal communication).

Estimates of regional population sizes (based on either limited tag recapture data or a deterministic model assuming sustainable catches) have been made for areas off South Africa and southern Australia (Cliff et al. 1996b; Strong et al. 1996; Malcolm et al. 2001).  Declining catch rates of juveniles have been recorded in shark control programs in South Africa and New South Wales (Australia) (Reid and Krogh 1992; Cliff et al. 1996a), with a decline in mean size reported in the latter study.  Catches in a similar program off southern Queensland have not shown strong evidence of decline (G. McPherson, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, personal communication to Barry Bruce).

Bruce (2008) commented that "the white shark has received more international and domestic conservation attention than any other pelagic shark.  White sharks are fully protected in the waters of Australia, the United States, South Africa, Malta and Namibia. New Zealand prohibits targeting of white sharks but allows the sale of those taken as by-catch (CITES, 2004).  White sharks are listed as Vulnerable (A1cd; A2cd) on the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List (see www.redlist.org for definitions).  In an effort to monitor and stem the trade in white shark parts, Australia and Madagascar jointly nominated the white shark for inclusion on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and in October 2004 it was listed (see www.fws.gov).  This listing requires that all countries monitor and regulate the trade in white sharks (or their parts) to ensure that such trade is not detrimental to the status of white shark populations."

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Citation and/or URL

Bruce, B., 2008, The Biology and Ecology of the White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias. In Sharks of the Open Ocean, Edited by Camhi, M., Pikitch, E & Babcock, E.  Blackwell Publishing, pp 69-81.

Spatial Coverage

Worldwide

Temporal Coverage

 Not applicable

Update Frequency

Not applicable 

Other Information

Environment Australia (2002)  White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) Recovery Plan.  Environment Australia, July 2002. 43pp

See also White Sharks in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park