Shark Bites – news & sightings
Females prefer to spend more time in Hawai‘i than males—at least according to a new study on great white sharks.
The study, published in the Journal of Marine Biology, examines the rare but occasionally recorded presence of great white sharks in waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. Previous studies have shown that great white sharks seen in Hawai‘i are migrants from California and Mexico. While only a small population of great whites makes the long journey from the West Coast to Hawai‘i, this study sheds new light on the travelers.
“Male and female white sharks have different migration patterns,” explained university researcher Kevin Weng. “Males have been recorded in Hawai‘i from December through June, but females have been observed here all year round.”
In the study, the researchers also discovered that white sharks are spotted in Hawai‘i across a broader part of the annual cycle than previously thought, with recorded observations from every month except November.
The paper, titled “Occurrence of White Sharks in Hawaiian Waters,” was written by Kevin Weng of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) and Randy Honebrink of the Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR).
