Sharks · Carcharodon carchariasThe largest predatory fish on Earth

Great White Shark

The great white is the largest predatory fish alive, a warm-bodied hunter that can live 70 years. Southern California is one of its nurseries.

Fast facts The print

~20 ft

Maximum length; adults are usually 11 to 16 ft

NOAA Fisheries

~25 mph

Burst speed when attacking

Monterey Bay Aquarium

70+ yrs

Lifespan, from growth-band studies of Atlantic sharks

Hamady et al. 2014

Vulnerable

IUCN Red List; protected in California since 1994

IUCN · CDFW

How big is a great white shark?

Adult great whites are usually 11 to 16 feet long and weigh 1,500 to 2,500 pounds. The largest reliably measured females approach 20 feet and more than 4,000 pounds. Females are bigger than males, as in most sharks.

A white shark's mouth holds around 300 serrated, triangular teeth in several rows, replaced throughout its life. The teeth are built for cutting, which is why adults can take on seals and sea lions.

Speed, senses and warm blood

Great whites cruise slowly and strike in bursts of around 25 miles per hour, sometimes launching clear of the water after seals. They keep parts of their body warmer than the sea, which powers those bursts in cold water.

They can detect the faint electrical fields of a heartbeat, smell blood in tiny concentrations, and see well in low light. Most of a white shark's life is spent patrolling, not attacking.

What great whites eat, and why the beach is a nursery

Young white sharks eat fish, rays and small sharks. Only as they pass about 10 feet do they switch to seals, sea lions and whale carcasses. That is why juveniles spend their first summers in warm, shallow water full of fish, and off Southern California that means the beaches from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

Researchers now tag dozens of juvenile white sharks a year within sight of swimmers at Southern California beaches. The sharks are mostly uninterested in people; incidents are rare, and the animals usually move on with the season.

Status and protection

The IUCN lists the great white as Vulnerable. California made it illegal to take a white shark in 1994, among the first such protections anywhere, and the species is protected in South Australia, where this photograph was taken, and in many other countries. Off California the population appears to be slowly recovering as seal and sea lion numbers have grown under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Threats remain: accidental catch in gillnets, the fin trade elsewhere in the world, and the slow pace of a species that may not breed until its thirties.

Seeing one from Southern California

Juvenile great whites gather in the shallows off Southern California beaches from late spring into fall; Santa Monica Bay, the Ventura coast, Del Mar and Carlsbad are known spots. Adults are seen around the Channel Islands and the Farallones farther north. Treat any sighting with distance and respect; the state protects them.

A great white shark gliding over a kelp-covered reef

The printThe EscortMuseum-quality, printed to order. Profit funds youth programs.

What we do about it: Guardians of the Kelp. The bigger picture: our guide to ocean conservation in Southern California.

Questions

Great White Shark, Answered

How big can a great white shark get?

The largest reliably measured great whites approach 20 feet and more than 4,000 pounds. Most adults are 11 to 16 feet.

How fast can a great white shark swim?

Around 25 mph in a burst. They cruise much more slowly and strike in short bursts, sometimes breaching after seals.

How long do great white sharks live?

At least 70 years. A 2014 study that counted growth bands in the vertebrae of Atlantic white sharks found males over 70 and females around 40, far longer than earlier estimates.

Are there great white sharks in Southern California?

Yes. Southern California beaches are a nursery for juvenile white sharks, which spend summer and fall in shallow water feeding on fish and rays. Adults are seen around the Channel Islands.

Are great white sharks endangered?

They are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. California has protected them since 1994, and the population off the US West Coast appears to be slowly recovering.

Sources · reviewed November 2026

NOAA Fisheries species profile: White shark
IUCN Red List, Carcharodon carcharias
Hamady, Natanson, Skomal & Thorrold (2014), PLOS ONE: vertebral bomb-radiocarbon ageing of white sharks
California Department of Fish and Wildlife: white shark protection (1994)
Monterey Bay Aquarium white shark research

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