Sea otters bounce back but fall prey to great whites
Sea otters bounce back but fall prey to great whites

White sharks complicate population recovery for sea otters

Complex interactions and conflicts between protected populations may challenge the recovery of whole ecosystems. Several factors indicate that white sharks may be currently limiting the recovery of California sea otters.

Protected white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) and pinnipeds have an established predator–prey relationship along the California coast.

White sharks are considered threatened by the IUCN Red List, and though they are protected at state, federal, and global scales, their current status in the northeastern Pacific is debated.

Reconstruction of a megalodon's jaws
Reconstruction of a megalodon's jaws

Great white sharks are cousins, not descendants of Megalodon

Text by David McGuire

Imagine witnessing a white spot moving quickly up from below. From a blur of white and gray, it turns into an open mouth, two black eyes, and large wing-like fins. In three seconds, the image transforms from a vague spot to a great white grin. Five rows (with two protruding rows) of around 300 triangular serrated teeth line a jaw of cartilage around one meter (three feet) wide in a mature great white shark sized around 5 to 6 meters (16.5 to 20 feet).

USS Samuel B. Roberts on the seabed
USS Samuel B. Roberts on the seabed. Victor Vescovo's team made six dives in search of the vessel.

World's deepest shipwreck located

Victor Vescovo, the founder of exploration company Caladan Oceanic, and a team from EYOS Expeditions made six dives over eight days looking for the long-lost WW2 destroyer which was located on 22 June. It lies at a depth of 6,895 meters (22,621 feet), in the Philippine Sea, split in two and lodged on a slope.

Speaking to CNN, Vescovo called it an "honor" to find the ship, saying in a statement that locating it had given the team the chance "to retell her story of heroism and duty."