‘Tis the time of year, not just for spooky ghosts and goblins, but far scarier creatures that prowl along the California coast. During Sharktober, which extends from September to November, great white sharks, the largest predatory fish on the planet, are on the hunt.
Every year these lords of the deep migrate more than a thousand miles from a zone east of Hawaii known as the “White Shark Cafe.” Their destination: the Red Triangle, a swath of ocean stretching from Bodega Bay in the north to the Farallones Islands in the west and Monterey Bay in the south. The cold, nutrient-rich waters of the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary nourish a rich array of marine life, including seals and sea lions that lure great whites eager to feed heavily and build strength and stamina for the winter months.
More sharks mean more encounters with swimmers, surfers and kayakers. An estimated 38 percent of all recorded great white shark attacks in the United States have occurred in the Red Triangle, mainly in autumn. Even so, they remain rare—with surfers (the most common victims) facing odds of about one in 17 million. On average a great white shark bites a person in California—almost always mistaking the hapless human for its usual fare—about once every three years. A fatal attack happens about once every fourteen years.
In 2008 an advocacy group called Shark Stewards launched Sharktober to celebrate the great whites’ annual return to the Red Triangle. Festivals, field trips and seminars educate the public and instill respect for great whites as creatures of rare biological magnificence–and magnificent they certainly are!
Some 400 million years of evolution have honed their tactical skills and elevated great whites to the top of the ocean’s food chain. Masters of stealth and surprise, they can detect a single drop of blood in the water from miles away. Specialized electro-receptive organs allow them to sense other creatures’ invisible electrical fields so they can ambush a target even in murky waters. Despite their massive size, they can torpedo toward their prey at speeds of up to 25 miles an hour. Few assassins, in or out of the sea, are as proficient or efficient.
Most terrifying are a great white’s jaws, immortalized by a blockbuster book and heart-pounding movie. Clenching down with a force of about 4,000 psi (pounds per square inch), sharks have one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom. Embedded in their mighty jaw bones are triangular, serrated, self-replacing, three-inch-long teeth, perfectly adapted for cutting and tearing through flesh and bone.
Much less known and appreciated is the role great whites play in maintaining the balance of marine ecosystems. In highly biodiverse waters like those of the Pacific coast, these apex predators prevent marine mammals from becoming overpopulated and overgrazing other ocean species. They also, as shark watchers note, “eat the sick, the stupid and the slow” among their prey, controlling the spread of disease and promoting the transmission of healthier genes.
“It is essentially impossible,” the Shark Stewards observe, “to have a healthy ocean without having healthy populations of sharks.” Yet despite regulations against pursuing, fishing, hunting, catching and capturing, sharks are at risk. Over the last fifty years, the populations of some species have declined by more than 70 percent. A third may be threatened by extinction. Their loss would have a rippling, catastrophic effect down the entire oceanic food chain.
“Don’t be afraid of sharks,” Sharktober reminds us, “Be afraid for them.” Nonetheless, if you’re searching for a seasonal thrill, I’d suggest a haunted house. If you do venture into their territory, be extra careful out there!
