Great White Sharks In California Now Protected Species

Great white sharks in California are now protected under the state’s Endangered Species Act.

KESQ reports that the Endangered Species Act states that great white sharks will be protected from”hunting, pursuing, catching, capturing or killing.” Great whites have been protected from targeted sport and commercial fishing since the mid 1990s.

Marci Yaremko, the fisheries manager for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, said:

“While targeted sport and commercial fishing for a white shark has been banned in waters off California since the mid 1990s, there were some exceptions that allowed for incidental take and take associated with research activities. The department now will consider exceptions only on a case-by-case basis and will authorize take only under permits…”

CBS reports that the Fish and Game commission added the great white shark to a list of potential candidates for protection last month. The shark officially became protected under the Endangered Species Act today when the panel’s action was published in the California Regulatory Notice Register.

Now that the great white shark is protected in California researchers are planning to conduct an extensive study on the population.

Do you think the great white shark should be protected under the Endangered Species Act?

Great whites have protections in other parts of the world. They have partial protection along the east coast of the United States, Australia, and South Africa. In New Zealand, where a man was recently killed by a great white shark, they have full protection within 200 miles of the coast.