Malibu ‘Great’ White Shark Now on Display

BY ANNE SOBLE

Monterey Bay Aquarium spokesperson Ken Peterson said the young white shark that journeyed north last week to be placed in MBA’s 1.2 million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit “is settling in well and fed over the weekend for the first time.”
The female shark’s demeanor and health, including her swimming and feeding patterns, will be key determinants in how long she remains on display before being returned to the wild with tracking tags to record her travels.
The shark is the fourth of the species to be put on display at the aquarium, but was the fifth to try out for the part this summer. A half dozen other sharks were caught, tagged and released during the same time frame.
The 4 1/2-foot-long young white weighs 55 1/2 pounds. She was caught by commercial fishers in a seine net off Malibu on Aug. 16.
MBA does not announce when a shark is going to be transferred from the ocean holding pen located off Point Dume to the Monterey aquarium to avoid a media circus during the loading of the animal at the Malibu Pier into the special vehicle equipped for marine transport.
But it doesn’t take long for a new great white on display to become a major news event.
For more information about the exhibit, check out the information about white sharks and the Outer Bay Cam at www.mbayaq.org.

Photo credit, MBA/Randy Wilder