Guadalupe Island great white shark enters Southern California waters; journey is unprecedented

**Update: On Friday morning the shark's position was to the north past San Miguel Island

A great white shark tagged in 2012 at Guadalupe Island, west of Baja California, is closing in on Southern California and is the first known adult white shark from the Mexican island to have entered California waters.

The adult female white shark, which was tagged by Michael Domeier and the Marine Conservation Science Institute, on Thursday had passed Cortes Bank and was closing in on San Clemente Island (see graphic posted below). Cortes Bank is about 100 miles west of Orange County. Guadalupe Island is 165 miles west of Ensenada.

The adult female shark (pictured above) is named Arden Grace.

"Have you got a SCUBA trip lined up at San Clemente this weekend? If you do you might want to watch your back," MSCI posted on its Facebook page.

Another post reads: "This is a strange time of year for her to be in the coastal region. We've never had a female in our cold winter waters at this time of year, and we've never had one of our Guadalupe white sharks swim to California...

"She's headed towards San Diego now! Will she make it or turn around?"

(Those who wish to follow the movements of sharks tagged at Guadalupe can do so via the MCSI's Expedition White Shark app, available through iTunes.)

Great White sharks in the northeastern Pacific are known to have site fidelity during the fall and early winter to either Guadalupe Island or Northern California elephant seal rookeries, such as the Farallon Islands west of San Francisco.

During this time of year, however, the vast majority of adult white sharks from both aggregation regions are hundreds of miles offshore, in areas stretching as far as Hawaii.

Interestingly, sharks tagged at Guadalupe Island have never visited Northern California white shark aggregation sites. In 2008, an adult female white shark tagged near the Farallon Islands was tracked to Guadalupe.

--Pete Thomas

Comments

[ACE COINAGE]

In spite of its infamously glorified reputation, the Great White Shark is not an indiscriminate, merciless murderer. With that being said, it is also arguably the ocean's most feared predator and one of nature's most proficient and skilled killers. With an arsenal of evolutionary attributes at its disposal, this predatory beast wields unbelievable abilities that should commend more awe and respect than feared.

[Pete Thomas]

Moskito, the acoustic tag you're referring to, I'm almost certain, involved a shark tagged at the Farallon Islands and was tracked to Guadalupe. Not the other way around. It was in 2008. I have the PDF file on that. Also, scientists don't have a great handle on where sharks are born and and whether Guadalupe sharks are swimming to SoCal to give birth. Plus, I was referring to adult white sharks throughout the story. It's well-known that juvenile white sharks from California swim along the Baja coast.

[j moskito]

This is NOT the first time a shark has crossed the border, Mexican Researchers 4 years ago acousticly tagged a Great White at Guadalupe and then it was reported at the Farallons. nor is this the only one
in addition we know that most of the Guadalupe juveniles are born in Southern Calif and return several times even before going to Guadalupe or the Farallons

[drudown]

The reason why sharks tagged at Guadalupe Island are not seen at the Northern CA pinniped rookeries is presumably because the majority of those that are there in such rich hunting grounds (e.g., Farallon Islands) are much larger and more mature- and presumably much more dominant- than the 12-16ft White sharks at Guadalupe Island.