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Etymology and naming

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The name ‘great white shark’ likely comes from the shark’s size, as well as the white underside exposed on beached sharks.

The species is known in English as ‘great white shark’, ‘white shark’, ‘white pointer’ and ‘white death’.[1] The names likely refer to its white underside, which is noticeable in dead sharks lying upside down.[2] Colloquial use favours the name ‘great white shark’, with ‘great’ perhaps emphasising the size and power of the species. Scientists typically use ‘white shark’, as there is no “lesser white shark” to be compared to.[3] while some use ‘white shark’ to refer to all members of the Lamnidae.[4]

The scientific genus name Carcharodon is a portmanteau of two Ancient Greek words: the prefix carchar- is derived from κάρχαρος (kárkharos), which means “sharp”. The suffix -odon derives from ὀδών (odṓn), a which translates to “tooth”. The specific name carcharias is from the καρχαρίας (karkharías), the Ancient Greek word for shark.[5][2] The great white shark was one of the species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae and assigned the scientific name Squalus carcharias, Squalus being the genus that he placed all sharks in. By the 1810s, it was recognized that the shark should be placed in a new genus, but it was not until 1838 when Sir Andrew Smith coined the name Carcharodon as the new genus.[7]

There have been a few attempts to describe and classify the white shark before Linnaeus. One of its earliest mentions in literature as a distinct type of animal appears in Pierre Belon‘s 1553 book De aquatilibus duo, cum eiconibus ad vivam ipsorum effigiem quoad ejus fieri potuit, ad amplissimum cardinalem Castilioneum. In it, he illustrated and described the shark under the name Canis carcharias based on the ragged nature of its teeth and its alleged similarities with dogs.[a] Another name used for the white shark around this time was Lamia, first coined by Guillaume Rondelet in his 1554 book Libri de Piscibus Marinis, who also identified it as the fish that swallowed the prophet Jonah in biblical texts.[8]

Phylogenetic relationship between the great white shark and other sharks wihtin the order Lamniformes based on molecular and morphological data[9]

The white shark is the sole recognized extant species in the genus Carcharodon, and is one of five extant species belonging to the family Lamnidae.[5] Other members of this family include the mako sharks, porbeagle, and salmon shark. The family belongs to the Lamniformes, the order of mackerel sharks.[4]

The evolutionary lineage of the great white shark has been debated for over a century with two major hypotheses emerging; one proposing that its origins lie with the megatooth sharks, while the other suggests it descended from the mako-like species Cosmopolitodus hastalis.[10][11][12][13] Proponents of the former argued that the larger teeth in the white shark’s dentition resemble that of the giant megalodon, being robust with broad cervical margins, deep roots and marked with many tiny serrations.[14] By contrast, studies in 2006 and 2009 concluded that the teeth of the white shark are more similar to Cosmopolitodus than megalodon.[10][12] Megalodon would subsequently be classified in a separate the family Otodontidae.[13]

Illustrated evolution from C. hastalis to C. carcharias

A 2012 paper documented the discovery of a possible transitional species named Carcharodon hubbelli that connects the white sharks to the C. hastalis.[11] This species was found in the Pisco Formation, of Peru and it shows transitional traits between Cosmopolitodus hastalis and the modern white shark namely the gradual appearance of serrations.[11] This evolution may have taken place between a span of between 8 and 5 million years ago (mya)[15] and appears to have been driven shifting diets and niches; the serrations were developed enough for C. hubbelli to handle marine mammals.[11] C. hastalis continued to thrive alongside the white shark until its last appearance around one mya.[16]

A 2021 concluded that, while Cosmopolitodus and Carcharodon were closely related, the latter likely didn’t descend from the former as they both appear in the fossil record around the same time in the middle Miocene.[17] Marine biologist Greg Skomal proposes that the white shark and mako lineages shared a common ancestor in a primitive mako-like species, possibly Isurolamna inflata, which lived between 65 and 55 million years ago. hypothesized that the white shark and mako lineages split with the rise of two separate descendants, the one representing the great white shark lineage being Macrorhizodus praecursor, which led to Cosmopolitodus and Carcharodon.

The modern white shark likely originated in the Pacific and spread globally during the early Pliocene.[19] A 2020 mitochondrial DNA study concluded that Mediterranean sharks show closer affinity with Australia/New Zealand and North-eastern Pacific sharks than with sharks from South Africa and the north-western Atlantic. The researchers suggest that, over 3 mya, sharks from the former region swam to South Africa ” became confused by Pleistocene climatic oscillations” and swam north where they ended up in the Mediterranean.[20] A 2024 study states that “white shark mitogenomes are informative about the species’ deep history but are of very limited use for estimating recent connectivity”. This genomic study concluded that white shark populations can be divided into three major clades, North Atlantic (including Mediterranean), Indo-Pacific and North Pacific which diverged more recently around 100,000–200,000 in response to lowered sea levels.[21] Almost 60% of the white shark’s genome consists of repeated sequences and comparisons with the genomes of other sharks and vertebrates suggests “the maintenance of genome stability in sharks”.[22]

Appearance and anatomy

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Great white shark’s skeleton

The great white shark has a stocky, torpedo-shaped body with a short, cone-shaped snout; long gill slits that do not reach around the head; a large triangular first dorsal fin, which partly lines up with the pectoral fins, and tiny second dorsal fin; a caudal fin with similarly sized lopes and one keel; and a tiny anal fin.[2][23] The species has a countershaded coloration; being dark on top, usually blue-gray or gray-brown, with a white underside. It also has black tips on the underside of the pectoral fins.[23] There is evidence that the species can change pigments, adding melanin to blotches of white.[25] The skin is covered in dermal denticles which are smaller than in other sharks, with a three ridged surface; each ridge having tips which point backwards.

The great white shark is considered to be the largest macropredatory shark and fish.[27] Females are generally larger than males; the former measure on average 4.5–5 m (15–16 ft) in length while the latter average 3.5–4 m (11–13 ft) in length.[23] Similarly, females are recorded to weigh 1,000–1,900 kg (2,200–4,200 lb) compared to 680–1,000 kg (1,500–2,200 lb) for males. The maximum size of the white shark has been debated. Its reputation has led to exaggerated and discredited claims of specimens up to 11.12 m (36.5 ft) during the 19th and 20th centuries.[30] Biologists Richard Ellis and John E. McCosker wrote that “These giants seem to disappear or shrink when a responsible observer approaches with tape measure”.

According to shark expert J. E. Randall, the largest white shark reliably measured was a 5.94 m (19.5 ft) specimen reported from Ledge Point, Western Australia in 1987.[32][33] He stated, “Undoubtedly Carcharodon carcharias exceeds 6.1 m (20 ft) in length, but as yet there is no authenticated record of such a size”.[34] A 2014 study of white shark catch records in the northwest Pacific concluded that the longest reliably measured shark was 6.02 m (19.8 ft) in total length and the heaviest weighed 2,530 kg (5,580 lb).[35] A complete female great white shark specimen caught in the Mediterranean and displayed in the Museum of Zoology in Lausanne, Switzerland, measured 5.83 m (19.1 ft) in total body length with the caudal fin in its depressed position, and is estimated to have weighed 2,000 kg (4,410 lb) making it the largest preserved specimen.[33]

Model of white shark jaws

The triangular teeth are lined with serrations and can reach 7.5 cm (3.0 in). They are broader on the upper jaw and overall more slender in juveniles. The teeth are arranged in rows like a conveyor belt, with teeth in the back moving to replace those in front. An open mouth exposes roughly 26 and 24 front row teeth on the front row of the upper and lower jaw respectively, with a total of 300 teeth in the mouth. The jaws are separate from the skull, and are connected to the body entirely by muscles and tendons; allowing them to project in and out. The jaws can reach a gape of 150 degrees.

A 2008 study using a computer scan of a 2.5 m (8.2 ft) long and 240 kg (530 lb) juvenile white shark determined that the specimen could exert a bite force of 1,602 newtons (360 lbf) in the front and 3,131 newtons (704 lbf) in the back. From this, the researchers deduced that a specimen 6.4 m (21 ft) long and massing 3,324 kg (7,328 lb) could exert a bite force of 9,320 newtons (2,100 lbf) in the front and 18,216 newtons (4,095 lbf) in the back.[42] The jaws are strengthened by mineralized cartilage; this is lacking in young white sharks which have to eat softer food.[43]

As with other sharks, white sharks use five senses when hunting; eyesight, hearing, olfaction (smell), electroreception (via pits called Ampullae of Lorenzini) and water movement detection (via a lateral line).[44] Analysis of the brain and cranial nerves suggest that sight and smell are the most developed.[44] The eyes of the white shark appear solid black but have blue irises, and the pupil is more horizontal than in other species. The eyes have a relatively low ratio of rods to cones, indicating daytime vision.[48] They lack nictitating membranes but possess well developed muscles that allowed them to roll around to keep track of prey and roll back to avoid attacks.[48] The white shark has a relatively large olfactory bulb, an adaptation for smelling across open ocean;[50] it can detect potential prey from 110 m (360 ft). The vomeronasal system, located in the roof of the mouth, also appears to play a role in olfactory sensing.[22] It’s lateral line can detect disruptions in the water from 2 km (1.2 mi) away.

Internal physiology

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Liver of a great white shark

The great white shark is an obligate ram ventilator; to breathe it must swim constantly so water flows through the gills. Spiracles, extra breathing holes behind the eyes common in bottom dwelling sharks, is reduced or absent in this species. It has a large, double-lobed, liver that can be almost 30% of its body weight, and stores lipids, fatty acids and oils.[54][55] The liver helps keep the shark from sinking, as the oil has six times the buoyancy of the surrounding water. The lipids and fatty acids provide the shark energy for travel and fuel for reproduction and growth.[54][55] One study concluded that a white shark liver is more energy-rich than whale blubber.[55] White sharks appear to have strong immune systems and can tolerate high amounts of toxic heavy metals in their blood, moreso than other vertebrates.[57] They are also documented to heal relatively quickly from even serve wounds,[58] and the species’ genome shows “positive selection in key genes involved in the wound-healing process…”.[22]

Unlike most other fish, white sharks are endothermic.(‘warm-blooded’). Their bodies can maintain temperatures warmer than the surrounding water, which allows than to be active and hunt in cool waters. One study found that stomach temperatures ranged from 24.7–26.8 °C (76–80 °F) in waters 12.9–16.1 °C (55–61 °F).[60] White sharks maintain a warm body temperature via a complex blood vessel system known as a rete mirabile, were warm blood generated from the dark slow-twitch muscles is constantly supplied to other parts of the body within a countercurrent exchange system.[60] Heat is retained within the body rather than exiting via the gills. Warm blood can also be redirected from the liver to the body core via a vascular shunt, which can open and close. In addition, the species has an enlarged, thickened heart and its blood contains more red-blood cells and hemoglobin than even most mammals and birds.[60]

Distribution and habitat

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Shark in Guadalupe Island Biosphere Reserve, Mexico

Great white sharks range from tropical to temperate and even colder waters around the world,[2] with major populations in the northeastern Pacific, western North Atlantic, the Mediterranean, South African waters, northwestern Pacific, Oceania and both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of South America.[35][63] Skomal lists the Farallon Islands, California, Guadalupe Island, Mexico, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Western Cape, South Africa, Neptune Islands, Australia, and both Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands, New Zealand as major coastal feeding aggregations. Researchers have also identified a offshore feeding aggregation between western North America and Hawaii dubbed the White Shark Café.[65]

White sharks can be found both along the coast and in the open ocean, and may dive to depths of up to 1,300 m (4,300 ft) but are typically closer to the surface.[2][23] Deeper dives are more common in the open ocean.[66][67] Coastal habitats used include nearshore archipelagos, offshore reefs, banks and shoals, and headlands.[2] A 2018 study indicated that white sharks will congregate in anticyclonic eddies in the open ocean.[68] Juvenile white sharks are more limited to shallow coastal waters with temperatures between 14 and 24 °C (57 and 75 °F).[69] Increased observation of young sharks in areas they were not previously common, such as Monterey Bay on the central California coast, suggest climate change may be forcing juveniles towards the poles.[70]

Movements and distribution of tagged white sharks in the northeastern Pacific

White sharks go on vast migrations; one individual that was tagged off the South African coast swam to the southern coast of Australia and back within a year. Another white shark from South Africa was tracked and documented swimming to Australia’s northwestern coast and back, a journey of 20,000 km (12,000 mi; 11,000 nmi) in under nine months.[66] In May 2024, a satellite tag was recovered from an Indonesian fisherman which was determined to have come from a subadult female great white shark tagged off the South African coast in May 2012 which swam to and got killed off the Indonesian coast in November 2016.[71]

In the northeastern Pacific, white sharks travel between the coastal US and Mexico and the Hawaiian Archipelago; they feed along the coast mostly during fall and winter, and farther out to sea during spring and summer.[72][73] In the western North Atlantic, white shark congregate between the Gulf of Maine and Cape Hatteras during spring and summer, and shift farther south towards Florida and around to the Gulf of Mexico during the fall and winter. In fall, winter and spring, some sharks disperse widely across the ocean, reaching as far east as the Azores.[67]

Behavior and ecology

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White shark at Guadalupe with wounds caused by another shark

Great white sharks are more active during the daytime; how they sleep is not well understood. At nighttime, one individual was recorded swimming slowly in one direction along a current with its mouth open.[74][75] White sharks typically swim at around 3.25 km/h (2.02 mph) but can sprint up to 50 km/h (31 mph). One individual was recorded cruising at a sustained speed of 4.7 km/h (2.9 mph) while migrating, which is fast for a shark and more similar to fast-swimming tuna.[66] White sharks display various surface behaviors, such as poking its head out or spyhop to observe a object above the water, as well as ‘Repetitive Aerial Gaping’ where a spy-hopping shark repeatedly gaping its mouths while belly-up, possibly as a sign of frustration after missing a bait.[76]

The white shark is generally considered to be a solitary species, though aggregations do occur. A 2016 study of sharks around Mossel Bay, South Africa concluded that white shark associations are generally random with few social interactions.[77] By contrast, a 2019 study found that sharks around Neptune Islands gathered in non-random aggregations.[78] Similarly a 2022 study of white sharks at Guadalupe Island suggests that individuals may associate so that they can learn from others where to find prey or carcasses to scavenged.[79] White shark aggregations can also differ in composition of individuals based on age and sex. At Neptune Islands, sightings of subadult females peak during April and May, subadult males in February and again in September, adult females in June and adult males in September.[80]

White sharks may develop a dominance hierarchy where an individual’s rank is primarily established by their size, and to a lesser extent, their sex and length of occupancy; in particular, higher ranking sharks tend to be larger, female and established residents. When sharks may establish rank with displays and rituals rather than fighting. Individuals may size each other up by swimming in parallel, perpendicular or from opposite sides or pursue each other in a circle. When at the same carcass, competitors tail-slap the surface, resolving the conflict by who has the bigger splash. Subordinate sharks submit by fleeing or giving way to the more dominant individual. Before attacking or retreating, a shark may make a hunched posture.[81]

The great white shark is an apex predator that opportunistically feeds on fish, cephalopods, marine mammals, sea birds and sea turtles. Diet differs based on size and age; individuals that have reached 3 m (9.8 ft) can feed on marine mammals, while juveniles are limited to smaller prey like fish and squid.

Marine mammals preyed on include pinnipeds and cetaceans. They are also recorded to bite sea otters but do not usually consume them.[84] The seasonal availability of pinnipeds drives white shark migration to certain locations. Targeted species include harbor seals, northern elephant seals and California sea lions off western North America; harbor seals and gray seals off eastern North America; Cape fur seals off South Africa; Cape fur seals (Australian subspecies), New Zealand fur seals, and Australian sea lions off Australia; and New Zealand fur seals off New Zealand. White sharks mainly hunt pinnipeds by ambush and often target newly-weaned young as they have thick blubber but are still inexperienced and vulnerable.[81] Larger adults are more capable of injuring the shark with their teeth and claws; adult male elephant seals are particularly formidable as they can grow as massive as adult white sharks.[89][90] Sharks also prefer to target lone individuals as groups are more vigilant and, in the case of Cape fur seals, may mob the shark.[91][92]

Studies off California find that white sharks ambush pinnipeds near the surface from below, seizing and dragging them under. Earless seals, like elephant seals, are more likely to be struck in front of the hind flippers or the head—even leading to decapitation—while sea lions were more likely to be grabbed behind the torso. Seals are observed floating dead to the surface after some time, while sea lions, with their large fore-flippers, are usually able to break free from the first bite but are weakened and usually recaptured. There is no evidence that sharks bite their target, release them and then wait for them to bleed to death before eating.[90][93] Off South Africa, shark ambushes on fur seals usually involve the shark leaping or breaching out of the water.[92] To breach, a shark starts at around 20 m (66 ft) below the surface and ascends quickly towards its target, increasing its tail movements and pitch angle.[94] Sharks may breach partially or entirely out of the water at different angles, clearing up to 3 m (9.8 ft) when airborne. Missed seals may be chased after; such pursuits involve the prey using its speed and agility to escape as the shark employs various maneuvers to catch them. The longer the chase, the less likely the shark succeeds.[92] White sharks in Cape Cod hunt seals in shallow water, relying on the murkiness of the water to ambush them from the sides.

A shark scavenging on a whale carcass in False Bay, South Africa

Cetacean species recorded as prey include small toothed whales like bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins, Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, striped dolphins, Risso’s dolphins and harbor porpoises.[96][97][98] Bite wounds from white sharks have also been documented on dusky dolphins, dwarf sperm whales, pygmy sperm whales and even beaked whales. To bypass their prey’s echolocation, white sharks typically attack them from behind and target the tail, underside or dorsal area.[99] There are two records of white sharks managing to kill small humpback whales, one involved two sharks working as a pair. In both cases the whales were weakened by net entanglement, and the sharks employed strategic biting and as well as drowning.[100][101] White sharks are more likely to scavenge large whales. Multiple sharks will gorge themselves on a single whale carcass, biting into it and ripping off chunks by shaking their heads side-to-side. They may spit out pieces, possibly judging them to be too low in energy using their teeth as mechanoreceptors. The sharks do not appear to act aggressively towards each other, but accidental bites can occur. Eventually, the sharks become lethargic, they can no longer lift their heads out of the water nor can they get in a good bite as they bump into the dead whale.[102]

White sharks feed on numerous fish species, including other sharks. One 2023 study found that juvenile and subadult white sharks off the east coast of Australia fed primarily on ray-finned fishes, particularly flathead grey mullets, Japanese scads and various species of porgies, mackrels and tuna.[103] Off California, white shark will eat cobezons, white seabasses, lingcod, halibut, leopard sharks, smooth-hounds, spiny dogfishes, school shark, stingrays, bat rays and skates. In the Mediterranean, they consume Atlantic bluefin tunas, bullet tunas, Atlantic bonitos, swordfishes, blue sharks, shortfin makos and stingrays. An ocean sunfish was also recorded in a white shark stomach.[98] Off the northeastern US, juveniles commonly eat bottom-dwelling fish like hake, while off South Africa they often prey on dusky sharks. The remains of an adult whale shark was found in a white shark, though whether this is active hunting or scavenging could not be determined.[105]

They are also recorded to consume cephalopods as evidenced by beaks found in their stomachs. Off South Africa, white sharks under 2.5 m (8.2 ft) were found with remains of coastal and bottom-dwelling species like certain octupus species, as well as species of the genera Sepia and Loligo, while sharks over that length seem to prefer more open ocean species like those of the genera Ancistrocheirus, Octopoteuthis, Lycoteuthis, Ornithoteuthis, Chiroteuthis and Argonauta.[106] Near Guadalupe, white sharks have been documented with scars which appear to have been caused by neon flying squids, jumbo squids and giant squids.[107] Both fish and cephalopods may be important food sources at the White Shark Café.[65]

Other animals recorded as prey include sea turtles. In the Mediterranean, the shells of green sea turtles and loggerhead sea turtles haven been found in white shark stomachs in the Mediterranean,[98] and bites have been recorded on leatherback sea turtles off central California.[108] Around Seal Island, South Africa, white sharks are recorded to attack and kill seabirds like Cape cormorants, kelp gulls, Cape gannets, brown skuas, African penguins, sooty shearwaters, and white breasted cormorants, but rarely consume them.[109]

Reproduction and growth

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Albino great white shark pup caught off South Africa

Little is known of the reproductive behavior of the great white shark. There are two anecdotal accounts of the species possibly mating, one in 1991 and a second one in 1997, both off New Zealand. Those testimonies both report belly to belly rolling during copulation. It is assumed that the male bites onto the female’s head or fin while inserting one of his claspers, as is the case in other shark species. The accounts also suggest that that white sharks mate in shallow water away from feeding areas.[110] Females at Guadalupe and Cape Cod have been seen with scaring that may have been the result of copulation, possible evidence that these areas are used for mating. Conversely other studies have concluded that white sharks may mate offshore; males were found to gather in the White Shark Café during spring and where followed by some females, suggesting a lek mating system where females move through and chose their partners.[113] In 2013, it was proposed that whale carcasses are an important location for sexually mature sharks to meet for mating.[102]

Juvenile white shark breaching near Gansbaai, South Africa

Some pregnant females have been caught and have provided information on the species’ reproductive biology. The great white shark is ovoviviparous; fertilized eggs hatch within the female, and the embryos continue to develop within each uterus. Their nourishment comes in three stages; they first feed on their yolk sacs, followed by a milky substance known as lipid histotrophy secreted by the uterus and finally switch to consuming unfertilized eggs.[116] After around 12 months, the female gives live birth to two–to–ten pups. Birth intervals last two or three years.[23] A 2024 metastudy concluded that white sharks give birth during spring and summer in shallow waters surrounding islands with temperatures of 15.7 and 23.1 °C (60 and 74 °F).[63] White sharks are born at a length of 1–1.6 m (3.3–5.2 ft). In July of 2024, a possible newborn white shark was filmed for the first time, off the coast of southern California (just off Carpinteria), measuring an estimated 1.5 m (4.9 ft) and with a pale complexion, originally attributed to the milky substance.[117] A follow-up study confirmed the Carpinteria shark being a newborn white shark, but suggests that the paleness is embryonic epithelium that covers the shark’s skin denticles, known to exist in the related salmon shark, and rubs off shortly after birth.[118]

Bands in the shark’s vertebrate are used to determine the animal’s age and growth. Early studies determined that the species grows relatively quickly; a 1985 study concluded that white sharks reach maturity nine to ten years of age at a length of 3.7–4.3 m (12–14 ft).[119] Conversely, a 2015 study concluded that white sharks are a slow growing and long lived species. Males were found to reach maturity at around 26 years at a length of around 3.5 m (11 ft) while females take 33 years to reach maturity at a length of around 4.5–5 m (15–16 ft). Their growth rate levels off after the age of 40 and their total lifespan is estimated to reach over 70 years.[120]

Mortality and health

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Port (left) and Starboard near Mossel Bay These two orcas are particularly known for hunting white sharks.[121]

Great white sharks are sometimes preyed on by orcas, which they also likely compete with for food.[97] The first recorded orca predation occurred at the Farallon Islands in 1997 when an estimated 4.7–5.3 m (15–17 ft) female orca killed an estimated 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft) white shark.[122] Another similar attack apparently occurred there in 2000, but its outcome is not clear.[123] Subsequently, orca predation on white sharks would be documented off South Africa and Australia.[124][121] Around South Africa, orcas typically hunt white sharks in groups of two–to–six.[125] These cetaceans consume the energy-rich liver of the sharks[122] and dead white sharks washed ashore are found with these organs removed.[124][121] In 2017, a live white shark was seen with purported orca teeth marks, the first piece of evidence for the species surviving an attack.[126] The arrival of orcas in an area can cause white sharks to flee and forage elsewhere for the rest of the year, as has been documented both off South Africa and California.[121][127] In addition to orcas, white sharks may also fall prey to other sharks as pups and juveniles, including older white sharks.[63]

There are two recorded instances of the ectoparasitic cookiecutter shark targeting subadult white sharks off Guadalupe. However, the relative dearth of predation records indicates that white sharks are not a common food source for them.[128] The great white shark is the definitive host of two species of tapeworms from the genus Clistobothrium, these being Clistobothrium carcharodoni and Clistobothrium tumidum.[129][130] The former is believed to be transmitted to great whites through the consumption of infected cetacean prey which serve as intermediary or paratenic hosts of the tapeworm.[131] The latter species of tapeworm’s transmission vector is currently unknown.[130] The intensity of C. carcharodoni infestations in affected great whites is extremely high; in one case, up to 2,533 specimens were recovered from the spiral intestine of a single individual.[131]

Relationship with humans

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Prior to the 1970s, the great white shark as a species was known mostly to biologists and fishermen. The release of the 1971 documentary Blue Water, White Death is crediting with bringing the shark to public attention. The white shark’s popularity would increase further with the 1974 novel Jaws written by Peter Benchley, and its 1975 film adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg. The novel and film helped create the image of the species as a dangerous maneater. Benchley would later express regret stating “I cannot rewrite Jaws, nor make an ignoble monster of this magnificent animal.”.

Compared to other fish, the great white shark was not an important species for fishermen. Their meat was considered tasty but was it was not considered worth it due to the difficultly of hauling them in. Nevertheless, their reputation and size made them targets for sport fishing. The species was lured by chumming, and them presented with a hooked bait. Port Lincoln, South Australia was an epicenter of white shark fishing starting in the 1950s. In 1959, a fisherman named Alf Dean caught a 1,208 kg (2,663 lb) shark, and was given the record for being the largest fish caught by rod and reel. A larger white shark was caught in Streaky Bay but was disqualified based on the bait used.

White shark near two surfers off southern California

Of all shark species, the great white shark is responsible for the largest number of recorded shark bite incidents on humans, with 351 documented unprovoked bite incidents on humans since 1580 as of 2024. The majority of them have been non-fatal, while 59 have been fatal.[135] White sharks do not appear to find humans suitable as prey, though cases of humans being consumed have been reported.[136]

In 1984, Tricas and McCosker proposed that white sharks attack humans out of mistaken identity; surfboards in particular may have a similar silhouette to seals and sea lions.[137] A 2016 study disputed this, finding that most shark bites on surfers are too superficial to kill a pinniped and notes that white sharks make exploratory bites on numerous objects.[138] Similarly, shark expert R. Aidan Martin noted that non-predatory bites tend to be relatively soft, suggesting that white sharks do not mistake humans for pinnipeds but are actually test biting.[136]

A 2021 study suggests that the sharks are likely colorblind and cannot see in fine enough detail to determine whether the silhouette above them is a pinniped or a swimming human, potentially vindicating the hypothesis.[139] Conversely, a 2023 paper criticized the ‘mistaken identity’ hypothesis for focusing too much on vision and not considering the shark’s other senses. The authors conclude that “sharks don’t make ‘mistakes’ but instead continually explore their environments and routinely investigate novel objects as potential prey by biting them”.[140] Great white sharks infrequently bite boats. Tricas and McCosker’s underwater observations suggest that sharks are attracted to boats by the electrical fields they generate, which are picked up by the ampullae of Lorenzini.[137]

There have been attempts to keep great white sharks in captivity since 1955, in facilities in North America (and Hawaii), Australia and South Africa. The sharks survived only for days during the earliest attempts. In the early 1980s, aquariums like Steinhart Aquarium, Sea World San Diego, and Marineland of the Pacific were able to keep juvenile white sharks for weeks before releasing them.[141] A major contributor to the morality of these sharks was the poor transport; many were accidently captured by commercial gillnets and kept on fishing lines or in a tank before being handed over to aquarium staff, causing them stress.[143]

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