SAUSALITO (USA)- Great white sharks in the North East Pacific should be protected as endangered Species. Shark Stewards has filed a petition with the California Fish and Game Commission to protect the sharks under the Endangered Species Act.
The genetically distinct white shark population in California and Baja California, Mexico, numbers only a few hundred individuals and is at risk of disappearing from the ocean forever.
Adult great whites migrate thousands of miles across the Pacific each year, falling prey to longlines and shark finning. These sharks are also being killed as bycatch, exploited for fins, jaws and teeth and are being fished towards extinction.
At the same time, pups and young white sharks have had their habitat severely impacted by pollution and development and are killed in the drift gillnet fisheries in the Southern California nursery.
Pups and young sharks in their critical California nursery, and adult sharks foraging in California waters, will be better protected under the Endangered Species Act. As top predators, these and other shark species are essential for maintaining the health and balance of our fragile marine ecosystems.
Please sign this petition to protect Great White Sharks. More information and the full petition are located here