Great White Shark

The great white shark is one of the most known sharks, however little is known about their biology and nursery areas.

They are predominently found in temperate seas, though a few have been recorded in tropical waters (Martins et al., 2025). They are occasionally found in the cold, boreal waters of Alaska and Canada. They spend most of their time in the upper part of the water column nearshore. They can range from the open ocean and to depths of over 1300 meters. They will patrol small coastal archipelagos that are populated by seals, sea lions, and walruses. They can also be found at offshore reefs, shoals, and rocky headlands where deepwater drops off near the shoreline. They will cruise the bottom and surface in a very purposeful way.

Utilizing satellite and acoustic tags, scientists have studied the seasonal movements and habitat use of juvenile great white sharks in North Carolina over two winter periods from December through April (James et al., 2022). They found that the tagged great whites occupied continental shelf areas off the coasts of North and South Carolina and traveled along the coastline at depths less than 328 feet. They did not frequent warmer waters, but stayed in areas wtih an average sea surface temperature near 65 degrees Farenheit. Juvenles less than a year old inhabited different areas than their adult counterparts in the winter months.

Historic abundance trends demonstrate a significant decline in great white shark abundance in the 1970s and 1980s, however have begun to increase since the 1990s when conservation measures have been implemented (Curtis et al., 2014). As sites have become more accessible to researchers in the northeastern United States in recent years, there have been increasing trends in feeding aggregation sites of grey seals and increases in population. Research on juvenile great white sharks is still quite limited and only a few nursery sites are known.

The great white shark is one of the largest species of sharks.While maximum size is highly debated and speculated, they have an estimated maximum size of 20 feet, with unconfirmed reports of sizes reaching 23 feet (Martins et al., 2025).

Males mature at lengths between 10 and 13 feet; while females mature at lengths between 14 and 16 feet. Birth size is between 3.5 to 5 feet long.

They have a large, triangular dorsal fin, conical snout, a crescent-shaped caudal fin, and a single keel on the caudal peduncle. They have a sudden color change in their flank with an upperside of greyish-black to a pale, nearly white, underside.

The great white shark is considered a macropredator (Martins et al., 2025). They are most active during the daytime. Their most important prey items are seals, sea lions, dolphins and fishes that include other sharks and mobulid rays. Occasionally, sea turtles are ingested. Marine birds and sea otters are considered rejected prey because these species tend to suffer injuries, but not ingested.

The least understood predatory behavior in white sharks are detecton and identification. Some experiments have shown that great white sharks can differentiate between shapes and sizes to indicate prey preferances. However, other experiments have shown that they attack inanimate objects that do not resemble prey. It has been suggested that when great white sharks attack an unfamiliar object, it is to determine its potential as food, as opposed to identification with a shape and size of familiar prey.

Great white sharks do have social behaviors that are reflected in their swimming modes (Martins et al., 2025). If two sharks are approaching eachother, if one cautiously turns away, it is interpreted as an avoidance to maintain its individual space. When two sharks are swimming parallel to each other going in the same direction with a fixed, set distance between them, it is interpreted that it is a way for them to maintain their personal space.If two sharks target the same prey item, they will use displays that will discourage the other from taking its prey, such as slapping its caudal tail on the water surface to propel water at the other shark, or rolling on their side with exagerrated tail beating. Or, they may position themselves between the prey item and the other shark to deter predation. They may breech the water's surface and land flat to create a large splash and it is seen as a more intense signal to others than a tail slap. It may also aid in the removal of external parasites, to attract a mate or is a result of a vertical charge towards prey.

Great white sharks embryos hatch in the uteri (vivaparous) and they get their nourishment from consumption of unfertilized eggs until birth (oophagous) (Martins et al., 2025). Embryos in the uteri will swallow their own teeth to resume calcium and other minerals. It is currently unknown how long the gestation period is but it is believed to be a year or longer, with females giving birth every 2 to 3 years. Birth size ranges from 3.5 to 5 feet long. During mating, females often display bite marks along their dorsum, flanks and pectoral fins. Where parturition occurs is still unknown, but it is believed to occur in temperate shelf waters during spring through late summer.

While white sharks are not typically caught as bycatch by longline fisheries, they are sought after as a trophy fish and for their jaws and as preserved specimens in unprotected waters (Curtis et al., 2014; Martins et al., 2025). Their flesh is used for human consumption, their skin is used for leather, their liver for its oil, its carcass for fishmeal and its fins for shark-fin soup (Martins et al., 2025).

Recent research using radiocarbon values from vertebrae show that white sharks may live up to more than 40 years for females and more than 70 years old for males (Hamady et al., 2014).

Great white sharks belong to the order of Laminformes sharks that are endothermic, or warm-blooded. This allows this species to regulate its body temperature (Martins et al., 2025).

New research is being learned about great white sharks. Young juveniles were tagged in 2022 along the North Carolina coastline that showed they occupied the area between 32-37 degrees North at depths less than 328 feet. They did not frequent the warmer waters of the Gulf Stream, but remained in areas where the sea surface temperature was near 65 degrees Farenheit (Sea Grant North Carolina, 2023).

What is currently known about great white sharks along the northeastern United States show that they are resident in New York Bight waters between August and October, then move southward in the fall to overwinter in North and South Carolina shelf waters (Curtis et al., 2018).

Great white sharks are considered a keystone species which means their presence or absence will have a significant impact on the ecosystem and trophic cascade. Their removal from the population would impact populations of other prey species leading to increases, habitat overgrazing, and food web disruptions (Larson et al., 2021). The presence of great white sharks can influence the behavior of prey by altering their distribution and activity patterns.

These sharks are known to scavenge on whale carcasses as an important source of energy and nutrients and allows them to conserve predation energy (Fallows, Gallagher & Hammerschlag, 2013).

Recent research conducted in California indicate that prey availability and deep water access influence their migratory movement (Jewell et al., 2023). In the northeastern United States, prey aggregations seem to increase great white shark populations (Curtis et al., 2014).

Great whites are the number one species involved in negative unprovoked human interactions with the highest number of fatalities (Florida Museum, 2022). Due to their large size and proximity to humans, they have the ability to inflict serious injuries with teeth that are designed to shear rather than hold.

Globally, confirmed, unprovoked shark bites by great whites, from 1900 to 2024, total 292, with 59 resulting in fatalities. However, there has only been one shark bite in North Carolina, that resulted in a fatality, in 1957 (Florida Museum, 2022).

California White Shark Project [@California-White-Shark-Project]. (2024, June 18). Holy copepods! [Facebook post]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/100086479332553/posts/holy-copepods-copepods-are-the-tassel-like-creatures-that-attach-themselves-onto/456013800624594/

Curtis, T. H., McCandless, C. T., Carlson, J. K., Skomal, G. B., Kohler, N. E., Natanson, L. J., Burgess, G. H., Hoey, J. J., & Pratt, H. L. (2014). Seasonal distribution and historic trends in abundance of white sharks, Carcharodon carcharias, in the western North Atlantic Ocean. PLoS ONE, 9(6), e99240. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099240

Fallows, C., Gallagher, A. J., & Hammerschlag, N. (2013). White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) scavenging on whales and its potential role in further shaping the ecology of an APEX predator. PLoS ONE, 8(4), e60797. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0060797

Florida Museum. (2022, January 25). Species implicated in attacks. International Shark Attack File. Retrieved June 24, 2025, from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/factors/species-implicated/

Florida Museum. (2022, January 25). Unprovoked shark attack interactive map. International Shark Attack File. Retrieved June 24, 2025, from https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/maps/world-interactive/

Hamady, L. L., Natanson, L. J., Skomal, G. B., & Thorrold, S. R. (2014). Vertebral bomb radiocarbon suggests extreme longevity in white sharks. PLoS ONE, 9(1), e84006. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0084006

James, R. C., Curtis, T. H., Galuardi, B., Metzger, G., Newton, A., McCallister, M. P., Fischer, G. C., & Ajemian, M. J. (2022). Overwinter habitat use of young-of-the-year white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) off the eastern United States. Fishery Bulletin, 120(1), 68-73. https://doi.org/10.7755/fb.120.1.6

Jewell, O., Chapple, T., Jorgensen, S., Kanive, P., Moxley, J., Tweedley, J., Anderson, S., Block, B., & Gleiss, A. (2023). Diverse habitats shape the movement ecology of a top marine predator, the white shark Carcharodon carcharias. Ecosphere, 15(4), e4825. https://doi.org/10.22541/au.168354208.81965128/v1

Larson, S., Lowry, D., Dulvy, N. K., Wharton, J., Galván-Magaña, F., Sianipar, A. B., Lowe, C. G., & Meyer, E. (2021). Current and future considerations for shark conservation in the Northeast and eastern central Pacific Ocean. Advances in Marine Biology, 1-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.amb.2021.08.003

Martins, C., Knickle, C., French, L., & Naylor, G. (2025, February 5). White shark. Florida Museum. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/white-shark/

Rawls, K. (2024). Proclamation Re: Shark - Commercial and Recreational - Opening Date and Harvest Restrictions (FF-2-2024). NC Division of Marine Fisheries. https://files.nc.gov/deq/documents/2023-12/FF-2-2024_Shark_Opening.pdf?VersionId=ojmPIaCH.7VqI6F8cf_GTAY1fy80NCYY#:~:text=H.,Isurus%20oxyrinchus)%20for%20recreational%20purposes

Sea Grant North Carolina. (2023, July 26). Are young great whites swimming coastal Carolina waters? Hook, Line and Science. https://ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/hooklinescience/are-young-great-whites-swimming-coastal-carolina-waters/

© 2024 Sharks of onslow county.