Doing just ‘white’

Dave Brooks

A juvenile white shark caught off the coast of Huntington Beach could

be the first of its kind to flourish in captivity.

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium are ecstatic about the

acquisition of the new animal, which they said is thriving with other

shark species in a special 1-million gallon tank. No other white

shark has ever survived in captivity for more than 16 days, said

marine biologist Dr. Randy Kochevar.

In late August, the infant shark, believed to between six months

and 1 year old, was accidentally snagged in a fisherman’s gill net

off the coast of Huntington Beach. Aquarium officials soon took

possession of the animal and caged it in a special observatory net

pen for 23 days near Malibu before transporting the white shark

nearly 300 miles to the aquarium. Aquarium officials have offered no

clear timeline on when they plan to release the animal back into the

wild.

The Huntington Beach white shark is the only one of its kind to

actively eat in captivity, said Kochevar.

“We plan to start doing feeding, growth and dietary studies,” said

Kochevar. “It’s a chance for us to learn how efficiently they process

their food -- how much goes toward propulsion and how much goes

toward growth.”

The animal appears to be “free from stress,” said Kochevar, noting

that of the several dozen past attempts to keep a white shark in

captivity, none have been successful.

“The fact that [the Huntington Beach shark] is not only feeding,”

he said, “but actively feeding is very reassuring. It suggests that

the animal if comfortable and acclimating to her surroundings.”

Kochevar said he hopes the new exhibit changes some public

perceptions about white sharks.

“They are demonized and maligned,” Kochevar said. “This is a

chance to see them in a setting where they are relaxed, not ramming

into diving cages or attacking a swimmer.”

The shark can now be seen on the Internet thanks to a Web cam at

the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., the 4-foot-4-inch-long shark can be viewed

on any streaming media player as it swims with other predatory fish

species in the aquarium’s million-gallon tank. To see the shark visit

hhtp://www.montereybay

aquarium.org

Although the shark was found just off of Huntington Beach waters,

the risk of a shark attack in Surf City is very low, said the city’s

Marine Safety Lt. Mike Beuerlein.

“The shark was found three-and-a-half miles offshore and it wasn’t

very large,” he said. Great whites are believed to prefer the cooler

waters of Northern California, but the waters off of Los Angeles and

Orange counties are believed to be shark breeding grounds.

Beuerlein insists the animal doesn’t pose a threat to Southern

California beachgoers.

“We have not had a sighting of a large shark in the 24 years that

I have been here,” he said.