Are there any great white sharks in captivity?

Question

This might seem like a stupid question, but I have searched the web for the answer. Thanks. =)

Answer 1

First of all it is not a stupid question.

Second to the person who said Sea World had some.... WRONG.

Third, back to the question. Currently there is one on exhibit in the world (unless they released him since the last time I checked). For some reason that the science world has yet to figure out, they just do not have the ability to survive in captivity so it tends to be a rare thing. One of the problems is they still have much to learn about the species. However they are making great strides in not only learning about the wild ones but how they behave and can survive in captivity.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium in Cali is one such facility that is working on it. From time to time they do house a young white shark but it is never for more than a few months at a time. They tend to catch young white sharks and keep them until they see the animal is not doing well. While the fish is at the aquarium they do as much research as possible (diet, temp, movement, behavior, etc, etc).

If you ever want to see one in captivity that aquarium is your best shot. I threw their webpage below. Looks like they still have him.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/

Answer 2

Sea World Great White Shark

Answer 3

No there are none because they never last long.Many aquariums try to contain great white sharks in captivity but they never last long. But in 1981 in Sea World a white shark survied for 16 days.Then in 2004 at Monterey Bay Aquarium one was in 198 days. Then other ones in that aquarium last long from 11-198 days. There was one in 2016 at the Okinawa Churaumi Aqurium but it died 3 days.

Answer 4

no question is a stupid one. There are no great white sharks in captivity. For some reason they do not survive once they are in captivity. It would be great if there was I'd love to see one up close.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Are there any great white sharks in captivity?
This might seem like a stupid question, but I have searched the web for the answer. Thanks. =)

Answer 6

That's a tricky question...

Answer 7

I'm sure no great whites but yes other sharks

as far as a private owner you never know but the size of the tank would have to be huge and it would eat everything in it, your talking a sea world shamu type enclosure at the smallest, not cheap

lol i was wrong there was one but it wasn't full grown so really that backs up my point although i was wrong :)

The Monterey Bay Aquarium released the world's only captive great white shark shortly before sunrise Thursday because the 6-foot-4 1/2-inch predator was hunting its tank-mates and growing too large to handle safely.

But aquarium officials hope this isn't the last they hear of the shark. They attached a satellite-tracking device officials say will help unlock some of the mysteries surrounding great whites.

The news of the release dejected many spring break visitors who were waiting in 40-minute lines on a sun-drenched morning to catch a glimpse of the big fish -- only to learn it had been released off nearby Point Pinos just hours earlier.

"It's incredibly disappointing,'' said Paul Attard, who traveled with his wife and two young daughters from Orinda to see the juvenile great white.

To take the sting out of the loss of the marquee critter -- attendance at the aquarium jumped 30 percent to 1 million visitors since the shark was put on display in September -- the aquarium is giving free tickets to all visitors through Sunday to see the revamped Ocean's Edge exhibit opening May 27.

In a half-century of attempts, it is the first white shark to survive more than 16 days at any aquarium and the first to consistently take food offered by aquarium staff, authorities said.

The aquarium had been criticized for keeping the ocean-roving super- predator in the million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit after it fatally chomped two smaller soupfin sharks during a two-week span starting Feb. 23. While officials saw no signs the great white was feeding on the soupfins, they grew alarmed Monday when staffers saw the yearling female great white chasing hammerhead and Galapagos sharks in the tank that teems with giant blue fin tuna, barracuda, sea turtles and silvery schools of sardines.

Aquarium officials called the great white display a stunning success that taught researchers about the world's largest predatory fish and helped educate the public about the need to halt destructive fishing practices that slaughter millions of sharks worldwide each year.

"I think we made great strides in taking away this demon image that the white shark had been saddled with forever,'' said Dr. Mike Murray, the aquarium's chief veterinarian. "She did so well here, and so many people got an opportunity to experience a white shark up close and personal, and we got the conservation message to people that they are so important for the oceans to have white sharks."

"She's been an incredible ambassador for white sharks and shark conservation,'' added Randy Kochevar, the aquarium's science communication manager.

Initially, officials had planned to truck the shark six hours in a 3,500- gallon tank-on-wheels to release the shark off the Orange County coast -- where it was accidentally netted last August by halibut fishermen. But then, newly arrived satellite-tag tracking data from the aquarium's study of young Southern California white sharks showed they were ranging this far north and the water temperature currently matched their favored conditions.

So scientists scrapped the long road trip and used a stretcher hefted by four men to gently slide it from a boat into the Pacific just south of Monterey Bay.

"She floated out of the stretcher and very calmly swam away,'' said Murray, adding that the shark glided on the surface for about a minute.

"It was almost surreal the way she swam into the sunrise and her dorsal fin disappeared and that was it,'' he said.

Officials said the release was conducted before dawn because that's when the shark routinely approached the tank surface where it could be easily netted and the coastal waters are calm then.

Researchers attached a small electronic tag just below the shark's dorsal fin that will automatically release in 30 days, relaying vital information via satellite once it hits the surface. It will record its movements along the coast, along with what water depth and temperature the shark favors.

Aquarium spokesman Ken Peterson said officials plan to eventually post the tracking data on the aquarium's Web site.

Officials said the aquarium's success at displaying a captive great white has emboldened them to try again in the future.

They stressed that the shark not only survived, it thrived -- growing from 5 feet and 62 pounds at arrival to 6 feet 4 1/2 inches and 162 pounds on a steady diet of vitamin-enriched salmon and albacore tuna.

Noting that the shark didn't show predatory behavior until it reached a year old, Kochevar said they might be able to keep a shark in the tank until it reaches that hunting age.

But Santa Cruz shark researcher Sean Van Sommeran maintained that it's harmful for the aquarium to keep the great ocean shark couped up in a tank -- and that researchers and the public can learn more by viewing them in the wild.

"It makes a lot of money for them - that's it,'' said Van Sommeran, head of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. He pointed to photographs of the shark that he's posted on the Internet (www.underwatertimes.com.), saying that its nose "looks like a worn down pencil eraser" from running into the tank walls.

Murray, the aquarium veterinarian, disputed that, saying he inspected the shark's snout before its release and found it to be healing fine from wounds suffered during its accidental capture. "There was no doubt in my mind that this shark was very healthy in captivity,'' he added.

Other veteran shark researchers have lauded the aquarium's ground- breaking efforts, saying it can help scientists learn things about the shark's diet, metabolism and behavior that can't be controlled in nature. They say critics shouldn't downplay the educational value of having millions of visitors connect with a fascinating creature that's long been demonized in horror movies.

"Who's going to want to conserve a villain?'' said Peter Klimley, a veteran shark researcher at UC Davis.

"There are all these Midwesterners who have never seen a shark; all they've seen is the movie 'Jaws.' But then they go to Monterey Aquarium and see this shark swimming in this very beautiful, sensuous way, and it changes their minds about sharks."

Answer 8

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_whiteshark/whiteshark_ours.aspx they are kept for short time and then released

Answer 9

THERE ARNT ANY AT ANY SEAWORLD NOR THE MONTERRAY BAY SQUARIUM

Answer 10

Yes, there are a few at the SeaWorld in San Diego.