Great White Shark found dead in BC won't be the last, experts say
A Great White Shark, the same species of the creature featured in Jaws, was recently found dead off the BC coast, and experts say climate change might bring more to our region.
We turned to the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) for answers after pictures of the discovery were posted on social media to a private Haida Gwaii Facebook group.
“The shark is confirmed to be a Great White Shark,” DFO told Daily Hive.
It added that it was a male that measured approximately 13.5 feet in length.
DFO scientists confirmed this thanks to the tooth shape, a “defining characteristic for all shark species,” along with the shape of the tail fin.
“The shark had been feeding on a seal, a common prey item for this species.”
The DFO states that many people report sightings of what they believe to be a Great White Shark, but they happen to actually be a close relative named the Salmon Shark. The DFO also says that this species is rare in our waters but that sightings are not unheard of.
“Great White Sharks are global in their distribution, in temperate or subtropical waters.”
In terms of where else they’re found, they can be found in the Pacific from the Gulf of California up to the Gulf of Alaska. DFO says there are only about a half dozen confirmed occurrences in our waters, usually around Haida Gwaii or the Hecate Strait.
Climate change could change the frequency at which we spot these sharks in our waters.
The DFO adds, “Given climate change, we can expect their occurrences in our waters to increase in frequency in the coming decades.”
According to National Geographic, contrary to popular belief and movies like Jaws, Great White Sharks aren’t crazed human-eaters.
“Films like Jaws propagate the image of great whites as mindless hunters prowling dark, coastal waters for hapless swimmers ā an animal whipped to frenzy by the scent of human blood. Yet not only do most people survive their encounters, many suffer only moderate injuries,” NatGeo said in an article about shark myths.