14 DAY TRIAL // As of lately, researchers in marine biodiversity noticed that the adult great white population in the waters of the US West Coast has undergone a considerable decline.
Therefore, they are now asking that this species benefit from legal protection under the Endangered Species Act.
The organizations having filed said petition are Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity and SharkStewards, whose members maintain that US's great whites have been brought close to extinction as a results of various human activities that negatively affected the sharks' natural habitats.
Moreover, it seems current fishing practices in this part of the world lead to these animals' accidentally getting caught in nets quite often, something that usually translates into their dying.
Speaking on the behalf of the Center for Biological Diversity, environmentalist Catherine Kilduff explained how, “The fierce great white shark is no match for gillnets that are like curtains of death for marine animals. There are so few of these majestic sharks left in our waters, they urgently need protections.”
Backing up her statements, Geoff Shester from Oceana made a case of how, “The new science set off alarm bells for all of us, as no one expected the population to be so dangerously low. Great white sharks are powerful allies keeping our oceans healthy, and they need us to protect them far more than we should fear them.”
What Geoff Shester means is that these sharks feed on sea lions and seals, thus keeping a close eye on local predator and prey population.
Lastly, as reported on Oceana's official website, the great white sharks living in the waters close to US's West Coast form a rather unique population, seeing how their genetic profile is very much distinct to that of all other great whites in the world.
Given all the above, it is our opinion that having them listed under the Endangered Species Act is something which needs be done so as to safeguard our planet's biodiversity and the wellbeing of marine ecosystems.