ABSTRACT

The degree to which White Sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) have interacted with various ¢sheries in Southern California is unknown, despite their high public interest and recent protection under state, federal, and international regulations. Data on White Shark ¢shery interactions in Southern California were mined from news reports, state and federal management agencies, ¢sher logbooks, and research institutions. Of the 369 records of reported White Shark catch between 1936 and 2009, 39% were categorized as young of the year (YOY), 21% as juveniles, 5% as subadult/

adults, and the remaining 35% were of unreported size. YOY sharks were caught in nearshore waters (<50-m depth) more often than adult sharks, which were mainly caught in offshore waters (>50-m depth). In addition, entangling net ¢sheries (e.g., trammel nets, set and drift gillnets) caught more White Sharks (81%) than other ¢sheries (purse seine, trawl, set line, hook-and-line, harpoon, etc.). Incidental reported catch rates of YOY and juvenile White Sharks have increased in Southern California since the California nearshore-gillnet ban in 1994 and regulation of the offshore drift gillnet ¢shery, despite a signi¢cant decrease in overall gillnet ¢shing effort since the mid-1990s. This suggests that the White Shark population off California may be increasing because of reduced nearshore gillnet ¢shing effort and harvest protection in state and federal waters.