ABSTRACT
In their review of White Shark distribution in the western North Atlantic, Casey and Pratt (1985) compiled observations from numerous sources, including ¢sheries interactions, con¢rmed sightings, and published accounts dating back to 1874. The rarity of this species in this region is exempli-¢ed by their compilation of only 380 records and their observation that White Sharks represented only 0.04% of the sharks taken by over 2.1 million hooks of pelagic longline effort from the Grand Banks to the Gulf of Mexico (1963-1983). Nonetheless, Casey and Pratt (1985) concluded that White Sharks in the western North Atlantic were most abundant on the continental shelf in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Cape Cod, Massachusetts). Moreover, the species is thought to exhibit seasonal movements, mediated by water temperature, into northern latitudes.
