Great White Shark distribution and Habitat
Great white sharks have been observed along the coastlines of California to Alaska, the east coast of the USA and most of the Gulf coast, Hawaii, most of South America, South Africa, Australia (except the north coast), New Zealand, the Mediterranean Sea, West Africa to Scandinavia, Japan, and the eastern coastline of China and southern Russia.
 |
Quote from Jaws...
Quint: Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women. |
Great white sharks live in almost all the cold or temperate waters of the planet, with greater concentrations in the southern coasts of Australia, in South Africa, California, Mexico's Isla Guadalupe and to a degree in the Central Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea.
The densest known population is found around Dyer Island, South Africa where up to 31 different white sharks have been documented by Michael Scholl of White Shark Trust in a single day.
It can be also found in tropical waters like those of the Caribbean and has been recorded off Mauritius.
It is a pelagic fish, but recorded or observed mostly in coastal waters in the presence of rich game like fur seals, sealions,
cetaceans, other sharks and large bony fish species. It is considered an
open-ocean dweller and is recorded from the surface down to depths of 1,280
meters, but is most often found close to the surface. Great Whites don't
necessarily prefer colder water. Rather, they prefer water with abundant food, meaning seals and sea lions. Those marine mammals are far more plentiful in cold waters than tropical, so their predators are, as well.
Distribution of the Great White:
Range is in blue
|
