Monterey Bay Aquarium releases shark after just 11 days

The fourth great white shark to go on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium was released this afternoon, just 11 days after her arrival, officials said. The shark fed just once during her stay in the aquarium's popular Outer Bay exhibit, which led to the decision to let her go.

The shark, a 4 1/2-foot-long female weighing about 55 pounds, was captured off the SoCal coast and kept in a floating pen outside Paradise Cove in Malibu while being evaluated. On Aug. 27, just before the Labor Day weekend, she was moved to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for its Outer Bay exhibit. 

“These decisions are always governed by our concern for the health and well-being of these animals under our care,” Jon Hoech, director of husbandry for the aquarium, said in a written statement. “On Saturday, it became clear that it was time to release her.”

This shark, like her predecessors, wears a tracking device that delivers data about where she goes, how quickly she covers ground and to what depths she dives. When the battery gives out, the pop-off tag will fall off. The information collected is being added to the aquarium's White Shark Project. For more information, check the great white shark story our own Pete Thomas wrote last spring.

-- Veronique de Turenne

Photo: Courtesy of Monterey Bay Aquarium