A great white shark?

Question

Hi. I'd like to knows two things. How is it possible it's legally allowed to keep the great whites in captivity if it's clear they suffer and can't handle it like other sharks do. And one more thing. A fisherman has recently caught a baby white shark in the Adriatic sea somewhere. Does that mean the area may have more great whites than suspected? It's not supposed to be inhabited by great whites. What do you think? Thanx.

Answer 1

They allow sharks to be in captivity because we want to see them, regardless of how it effects the shark.

It's possible, with us encroaching and every other species territory, why not the great white. BUt it is also possible that this shark just strayed away from it's normal habitat, it's happened before.

Answer 2

White sharks aren't common in the Mediterranean, but they've been observed there in the past.

The International Shark Attack File has interesting stats on where in the world people have been attacked by white sharks:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/ISA...

Answer 3

The first question can have many reasons. One good answer would be that people keep them in captivity to research them. One reason for research is to see why they generally don't do well in captivity. Scientists want to figure out what kind of stimuli affects the animal which causes it to become stressed in captivity. Some people do it because they don't care and just want to show the general public the animal that has haunted the nightmares of many beach dwellers.

The second question is simply because it is a nomadic and cosmopolitan animal. There are always reports of an animal that isn't supposed to be somewhere but winds up there anyways. When you have an animal that does endless traveling you can be sure it will wind up somewhere not commonly seen. A prime example would be the baby whale they found in the Delaware River several years ago in Philadelphia or the bull sharks found in Illinois via the Mississippi River.

Answer 4

I don't know about your second question. It may be that there are Great Whites in the area now, people are still researching and trying to understand Great Whites.

For your first question, I hope these links will help.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr...

What’s different from other attempts to put white sharks on exhibit?

Most past attempts by aquariums involved capturing a white shark and putting it directly on exhibit. Starting in 2002, we took a more cautious and methodical approach developed through a collaboration with shark experts and aquarium colleagues from around the world. Our demonstrated success involved working with a white shark in an ocean pen before gradually proceeding, step-by-step, toward putting it on exhibit. If at any point in the process the shark had not done well, we would have released it back to the wild right away.

Why put a white shark on exhibit at all?

Our mission is to inspire conservation of the oceans. We know that bringing people face-to-face with living marine animals is a powerful way to move them to care about the oceans and ocean life. White sharks are among the most maligned animals on Earth and one of many shark species worldwide threatened by human activities. In fact, white sharks are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). We believe there's no better way for us to raise awareness about the threats white sharks face than to let people see for themselves what magnificent and fascinating animals they are, tell the story of the threats they face in the wild and offer ways to take action that will protect them. When we had a white shark on exhibit in 2004-05, nearly a million people saw her in person—and took home important conservation messages about sharks. In 2006-07, our shark was seen by nearly 600,000 people.

How do you know if a shark is healthy and not suffering from stress?

An animal's feeding behavior is one of the best indicators of how it's feeling. If an animal is ill or stressed, it will typically stop eating. We watch carefully to see how often and how much a white shark eats and can respond immediately if there are any signs of problems. We also look for relaxed swimming patterns and calm tail beats. And we monitor its overall physical appearance.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/wh...

Goal 2: Exhibiting a White Shark

Exhibiting a young white shark allows us to contribute significantly to public understanding and protection of white sharks—an ecologically important and increasingly threatened species. Our ongoing efforts to study and possibly exhibit a young white shark began in 2002. Three times—first in September 2004 and again in both August 2006 and August 2007—we exhibited young white sharks in our Outer Bay exhibit and subsequently returned them to the wild. Learn about our 2007 white shark.

http://www.sharkfoundation.net/index.php...

Great white sharks in captivity

......While controversial, exhibiting white sharks in captivity can have benefits for the conservation efforts of the species. It allows a huge contribution to the public understanding and protection, allowing large numbers of people to view and learn about a species they would otherwise probably never see close up. However, it is a notoriously difficult exercise, in part due to the white shark’s size and disposition, their apparent lack of appetite when housed, and logistical problems with capture and transportation. Many pelagic species do poorly in captivity and are often released when they begin to show signs of stress.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7351538/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_white...

Answer 5

Research facilities, like Marine World in Florida, can get permits to keep any animal as long as it is not on any restricted list.

Great white sharks are cosmopolitans.  They can be found in any ocean.  They go where the food is.  Many travel long distance to get to areas like seal birthing grounds.

Answer 6

White sharks are known to travel. They have been found in many places where they were not believed to live. Typically they are warm water fish, though.

I suppose it's legal to keep them in captivity because many zoos and aquariums are also conservation and research centers. I can't really think of one that has white sharks offhand though. Which facility are you referring to? They probably have a research facility and that is why the white sharks are there. A lot of zoos have animals there for research and conservation and they are not put on exhibit.