Whether you fear them or admire them, most people have an
instant reaction when they hear great white shark. Intrigue,
mystery, and terror have guided attention on great white sharks
since they lit up the screens in the 1975 thriller “Jaws.” The
film made history 37 years ago for its chilling characterization
of these powerful sharks, and swimming in the open ocean has
never been the same since. Great whites are making history once
again, this time for their globally declining populations from
bycatch in commercial fisheries, capture in beach protective
nets, and slaughter for their fins, teeth, and jaws in the shark
fin and curio trade. Here on the US West Coast, new scientific
studies have shed light on the status of great white sharks off
California and Baja California, Mexico. Our great white sharks
are even more unique than we thought; in fact they are
genetically distinct and isolated from all other great white
sharks around the world. They congregate off Mexican Islands and
the “red triangle” off Centr