Tiger shark leaves Aquarium of the Pacific; white shark doing well at Monterey Bay Aquarium

If you're planning to visit the new tiger shark at the Aquarium of the Pacific, you'll be interested to learn that the juvenile apex predator was transported from the Long Beach facility's Shark Lagoon to a different facility.

According to an Aquarium of the Pacific spokeswoman, the 5-foot-long female tiger shark -- the only captive tiger shark on the U.S. mainland -- had outgrown her exhibit area. The new facility apparently wishes to remain anonymous.

Meanwhile, the young great white shark on display at the Monterey Bay Aquarium is feeding heartily on mackerel and salmon while serving its role of getting visitors to the Outer Bay exhibit interested in sharks and shark conservation.

"The only downside is that she prefers staying in the bottom portion of the exhibit and often near the back wall -- not making big, impressive passes by the main Outer Bay window upstairs (though she occasionally swims past)," aquarium spokesman Ken Peterson said via e-mail. "We're hoping she'll be with us for several months." 

The seaside facility has tagged and released its three previous captive sharks after stays that varied in length -- the record was 200 days. The predators are then tracked, and data are collected from tags as part of a collaborative program designed to learn more about white shark movements and habits.

The aquarium's SeaNotes blog has lots of information about the resident white shark and sharks in general, including a link that everyone interested in conserving sharks should visit, as it enables citizens to take action in support of legislation that would help bring an end to the cruel practice of shark-finning.

Millions of sharks are killed each year merely for their fins, to satisfy a powerful demand for shark-fin soup. It's said to be a delicacy, but there's undeniably something fishy about the process.

-- Pete Thomas

Photo: A young white shark swims past a young visitor to Monterey Bay Aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit. Credit: Randy Wilder / Monterey Bay Aquarium

Comments

[YYY]

as a biologist, all i can say is that both sides here make valid points. any captive institution (see oxford for definition of captivity) struggles with this dilemma. my opinion is that discovery channel has ruined all thoughts in the academic world of true scientific study...in all aspects. ie the 'who would with in a fight' segments. absurd. however you all see it, the true facts are that no one organization can determine the GWS numbers accurately therefore no one knows if they are endangered. south africa believes they are, but again, no proof from respected sources. don't believe everything you hear. try visiting the shark conferences that often are held in La paz Baja or research or Dr Scholl in gansbaai south africa. ty

[Sharkster]

Let me repeat, GWS are NOT on the endangered list, NOT on the threatened list, and NEVER WERE.
And I am trying to get in the last word..................

[Jess]

Look, I'm not trying to save the (insert current mainstream, popular, hip, flavor of the month animal)'s. Not trying to get the last word in. Not even trying to wax poetic and quote any naturalist, poet, or the like.

I'm merely pointing out the irony and borderline hypocrisy exhibited by the MBA's intentionally trapping of this free swimming, federally protected(isn't that illegal?) great white that I'm pretty sure is still listed as endangered. Especially when they claim the sole purpose is to educate the public on ocean conservation. HAHAHAHA Anybody else find that straight comedy?? The fact that they deny it is in no way, shape or form, a marketing ploy intended to attract the masses who pay amusement park money to be "educated" is just icing on the proverbial cake. Walmart, Mickey D's, Nike and the like would be proud..

[Save Whitey]

Wow,
So how does one acquire a specimen that is an endangered species???
Probably by an accidental by-catch, and then they had to save it by putting it on display???
Not even close.
This little white shark was targeted by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
They hired a spotter plane and several PURSE SEINER BOATS, to rope the little fella for their own public/private circus.
I wonder what everyone would be talking about if Ring Ling Brothers decided to study a GWS and put it on display???
How can the Monterey Bay Aquarium live with them selves?
They have displays in their aquarium that show pictures of dead dolphins and turtles from the terrible damage purse seine boats cause, and yet they hired them to catch a FEDERAL PROTECTED ENDANGERED SPECIES???
I have always been a fan of the MBA but this is going too far. Especially after they posted how their attendance when a white shark is being displayed more than doubles!!!
Thanks but no thanks. I will watch my sharks on the discovery channel.
OH crap, they are even more tainted with their sensationalism...
Can't we just study/enjoy/love them without all the showmanship???

[dru]

Rightly or wrongly, this shark's captivity is ultimately in furtherance of the White shark species' benefit. People that have seen a White shark in person are likely more inclined to protect them. This is much more likely to elicit support for sharks that the environmentalists' movement to supplant science with a "groupthink" that, well, you have a greater likelihood of being killed by a bee sting. Statistical infrequency does not disprove a known phenomena, i.e., White sharks are man-eating sharks.

Statistics are not a carrier of life, Skinner said, and certainly offer no solace to those who lost their loved ones to an intentional act of predation by a White shark. We recently lost our family vet in Solana Beach to such an attack. So lighten up, people. This shark being hand fed sushi-grade salmon doesn't have it so bad.

Ah me, I don't understand is this unseasonable tenderness for a fish' self-perceived plight when millions of human beings are incarcerated and living in far worse conditions. What did Emerson write? "Thy love afar is spite at home."

As such, if you object to a fish being confined in an aquarium- leave it at that. But spare us the notion that these sharks are "simply misunderstood" and human beings are afraid of them on account of JAWS and Shark Week. These are terrifyingly menacing predators towards any prey item and the scientific record clearly shows we are a tertiary prey item.

That is why seeing one in captivity inspires so much awe.

Being an avid shark enthusiast, I respectfully disagree that Shark Week "unfairly sensationalizes" the risk White sharks pose to humans. The shows depicts actual White shark/human interactions (see, e.g., Boswell attack off of Chile) and constitutes actual scientific data to analyze. Speculative nonsense such as "mistaken identity" theory is just that.

White sharks are generalist feeders in the truest sociobiological sense and will, albeit rarely, realize a feeding opportunity at a human being's expense.

Facts are facts, even though indulging in "mistaken idenity" makes it easier to go back into the sea.

"Enter the water, enter the food chain."

As an aside, having seen over 30+ White sharks while diving at Guadalupe island (over three days), coupled with all the sightings in So Cal, I have to agree that White sharks are not endangered.

The landlord is there, albeit seldom inclined to collect on the rent.

[Sharkster]

Great Whites are NOT endangered!
They are "Protected" in California and many other waters; there is a big difference.
Mountain lions are "Protected" in CA, but are in fact overpopulated for the available habitat.
As an avid angler in CA and Baja for nearly 50 years, I never saw a single wild GWS until 1999, not even at Guadalupe Island or the Farallons.
Now they are relatively common there, and sightings are popping up all over.
Protecting them is a good thing, but scientific study should be encouraged whenever possible.

[Jess]

If oceanic wildlife is so "fragile and threatened" as you say while making your point, isn't it hypocritical to praise the aquarium for snatching up an endangered species in the first place?? I mean, the great white was swimming freely in the ocean when it was intentionally targeted and snatched up!! Isn't that a federal crime to harvest a protected animal? It would be one thing if the magnificent shark accidentally got itself caught in a fishermen's net, but that's certainly not the case here, is it? And then to claim the sole purpose was to "educate"(once again, by educate I mean attract visitors who pay 30 bucks a pop)and use the patented "but...but... but we're a non-profit!" defense is just wrong. Honestly now.

[Mark Kawakami]

Jess--
The public pays, yes, but the public does in fact learn. Educate doesn't require quotes, the visitors to the Monterey Bay Aquarium leave with a greater understanding of the peril that sharks are facing. They are endangered, yes, but each shark displayed since the program began back a few years ago has been successfully released into the wild, where tracking tags have been able to show that they've adapted back into their natural habitat easily. So the exhibition of these wonderful animals has no negative effect whatsoever on the White Shark's numbers.

You say "attract" as if there was something ignoble about the concept. There isn't. There's nothing wrong with attracting visitors if the goal is to teach those visitors about how fragile and threatened oceanic wildlife is. You can only teach the people who show up.

Further, there's an awful lot of under-appreciated discovery that has occurred due to the aquarium's White Shark program. Biologists have learned fascinating things about their metabolism, growth rates, behavior and development by having these animals available for constant, daily monitoring during their brief stays at the aquarium. And after their release, they've learned even more about the migration of White Sharks. It's not the sexiest data ever acquired, but from a scientific viewpoint, it's invaluable.

We really must be fair to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Their White Shark program is hardly the sort of sensationalistic fear-mongering that each summer's Shark Week engages in.

[Jess]

The great white's camera shy, huh? No worries. I'm sure you guys will go trap another free swimming endangered speciman to help "educate" the (paying)public. By educate I mean attract, of course. There's a tiger shark for sale on ebay, by the way.