Why No Aquarium Has A Great White Shark

The Challenge of Keeping Sharks in Aquariums

While some shark species, such as nurse sharks, zebra sharks, reef sharks, and sand tiger sharks, seem to thrive in aquariums, the great white shark has proven to be a significant challenge. For decades, aquariums have attempted to contain the world’s largest predatory fish. Institutions like Marineland, SeaWorld, and the Steinhart Aquarium repeatedly took in white sharks during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, often drawing large crowds. However, these sharks never lasted long. Some needed help swimming, and none of them would eat. The longest one lasted was just 16 days. A 1984 report by the Steinhart Aquarium stated, “In most cases it could be said that all these captive sharks were merely in the process of dying, with some taking longer than others.”

The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Success

It wasn’t until 2004 that the Monterey Bay Aquarium proved that it was possible to keep white sharks for at least six months. This achievement required a massive effort. The Monterey Bay Aquarium had a million-gallon, egg-shaped tank, 35 feet deep, designed for open-ocean animals like tuna and sharks. They also needed a small shark. Adult great whites reach 15 feet on average. The Monterey Bay Aquarium nabbed one in 2004 that was 4 feet, 4 inches, less than a year old. This made it easier to move and keep.

The Importance of a Natural Diet and Environment

When young, white sharks feed on fish. As they get older, they transition to feeding more on mammals. The Monterey Bay team targeted the age bracket where they knew they were more able to feed their natural diet. They also set up a 4 million gallon pen in the ocean to monitor the shark and see if it would feed before they moved it into a transport tank to travel from southern California, where the sharks were born, up to the aquarium.

Challenges with Breathing and Movement

Sharks, like all fish, need to have water continually passing through their gills to get oxygen. Most species can open and close their mouths to pump the water through. But white sharks and a couple dozen other species don’t do that. To breathe, they have to move forward through the water with their mouths open. This is why white sharks start to weaken as soon as they’re caught in a net, and why they needed a custom-built transport tank with mobile life support.

Impact on the Sharks

Despite the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s success, keeping white sharks in captivity took a toll on the animals. They developed visible sores from bumping into the sides of the tank. Over the next six years, the aquarium displayed five more baby white sharks, some they paid fishermen to hand over, some they caught themselves. Their stays ranged from just 11 days up to 5 months. However, the aquarium decided to release its sixth white shark after 55 days, and its tracking tag revealed that the shark died shortly after being released. Since then, they haven’t tried to bring in another great white shark.

The Biodiversity Heritage Library

For those interested in learning more about sharks and other aspects of biodiversity, the Biodiversity Heritage Library is a great online resource. It’s the product of a couple dozen museums and libraries all agreeing to scan millions of pages from books related to biodiversity. They’ve got a bunch of great albums on Flickr, including one that’s all about sharks. Some of these go back to the 16th and 17th centuries, back when naturalists used to call sharks “sea dogs” which is funny because as we now know, sharks were roaming the oceans for about 300 million years before the first mammals showed up.