Great White Sharks Are Heading To Northern Waters

Experts have observed that great white sharks have headed North, a practice that was unobserved in the previous years.

According to a Live Science report, great white sharks had been rare in the 20th century in the northern waters. It noted that until 2006, there had only been 32 recorded sightings of the said shark species off Canada's east coast.

Currently, their presence has been increasing and scientists believed that this was because they were attracted to the frigid waters due to the abundance of their favorite prey, the seals.

The report said the population of seal in the region has increased in the last 60 years because of conservation efforts such as the 1972 U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, going from around 2,300 individuals in 1960 to 380,000 in 2017.

Megan Winston, staff scientist at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, told Live Science that "a lot of folks think white sharks in the waters off New England and Canada are a new phenomenon, but there are some great accounts of white sharks from fishermen in the early to mid-1900s - and earlier - in that region before shark populations coast-wide took a nosedive."

She pointed out that the rise of sightings of great white sharks in the area was due to the abundance of prey and an increase in shark numbers.

"What we're seeing right now is the species recolonizing its historic range as it recovers and as populations of seals, one of their favorite foods, rebound following protections that were put into place for marine mammals in the 1970s," Winton said in an interview with Live Science.

Studies have shown that in the 20th century, the number of great white sharks decreased, falling by around 80%.

To stop the decline, various US laws and regulations which aim to protect white sharks were introduced, and following their enforcement, the numbers had returned to "healthy levels."

Humans as preys

Meanwhile, when it comes to preys, research have shown that great white sharks are not fond of humans as their food.

Marine biologist Chris Lowe said shark attacks in the US were extremely rare. He noted in a study published in the journal Plos One that in 2022, there were 41 unprovoked bites and one fatality reported in the US.

According to Lowe, the young white sharks are probably more focused on eating animals such as stingrays. He added that these stingrays usually stay beneath the ocean floor.

Lowe also noted in his study that young sharks can grow up to about nine feet or 2.7 meters long before they reach adulthood. Despite that growth, these sharks could be scared of humans, he added.

Climate change

Meanwhile, research has also found that climate change will likely affect the geographic range of white sharks.

Winton said experts are already documenting northward shifts in other species, and white sharks and their prey are likely to be no exception.

Winton further mentioned that the waters off the northeastern US and Canada are among the fastest warming ocean regions in the planet.

The Independent earlier reported that sharks spend summer and fall primarily in coastal waters off New England and Atlantic Canada as they feed on high-calorie prey such as seals.

After that, the marine animal will head back south to warmer winter waters off the southeast US from South Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico.