Malibu White Shark Returned to Local Waters after 11 Days on Display

• Could Push for Labor Day Crowds Have Shortened Adjustment Time in Point Dume Holding Pen?

BY ANNE SOBLE

Last week’s positive forecast for the young white shark transported from Malibu to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Outer Bay exhibit on Aug. 27 proved short-lived as the report that the female shark had eaten on her third day in captivity turned out to be the only time she fed over the span of 11 days she was on display.
The shark was swimming well in the million-gallon exhibit, but the aquarium’s animal care staff decided it “was best to return her to the ocean” immediately. She was tagged and released at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in offshore waters of the Santa Barbara Channel.
MBA released the other three sharks that were formerly on display in the waters of Monterey Bay. Ken Peterson, the spokesperson for the aquarium said, “This was the first shark released down south. Our animal care staff decided that since the latest shark was smaller and younger than the others, and hadn’t been eating regularly, it was best to release her closer to the warmer waters where young sharks are typically found. That spared her a long swim south on an empty stomach.”
The first shark put on display in 2004, also a female, was over five pounds heavier and six inches longer when she was caught. She spent the longest time on exhibit—198 days. The shark caught Aug. 16 only spent 11 days in the holding pen off Point Dume, somewhat less than her predecessors, but MBA crews said she appeared to have adjusted to captivity.
Like the three whites that spent between four and six months at the aquarium before being released, the recently returned shark is fitted with a pop-up tag that will collect information on where she travels, the depths she dives to, and the water temperatures she favors for the first 148 days she’s back in the wild.
The tag is scheduled to pop free in late January. On the pre-programmed date, it disengages from the shark and floats to the surface. The data on it are sent via satellite back to the laboratory where they can be analyzed.
In some cases, the tag itself is recovered and can provide even more detailed information.
After this shark’s transport to Monterey, Peterson said renovations to the Outer Bay Exhibit slated for late 2009 meant that this young white would be the last to be displayed until 2011.
The MBA spokesperson said it will not try to find a replacement. “[There will be] no further attempts this year; the pen is gone and that part of our conservation research project is completed for 2008. We could still tag young sharks down south, but that’s the extent of it.”
As for 2009, Peterson said, “Next year we do not plan on bringing a white shark to Monterey, because of the planned exhibit closure after Labor Day,” adding, “We don’t plan to set up the ocean pen until we’re again in a position to consider bringing a shark to Monterey [in 2011].”
In October 2004, white sharks gained new protection in a global wildlife treaty approved by the U.N.-affiliated Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Under the new regulations, trade will be closely monitored and may be banned if white shark numbers keep falling.
On Friday, Sept. 12, at noon, Peterson will host a live video webcast on white sharks featuring MBA’s curator of field operations John O’Sullivan and white shark researcher Chris Perle.
The webcast will feature exclusive video of past MBA sharks, including their arrival, care and release back into the ocean.
Instructions on how to register to participate in the webcast are available at www.montereybay aquarium.org/whiteshark/