 Great Whites Are Protected
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June 18, 2003 — A California fisherman could be sent to jail and fined after reeling in a great white shark off a Los Angeles area public pier, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Abraham Ulloa was fishing with his children when he hooked a 6-foot, 200-pound great white shark and, after a two-hour struggle, pulled it onto the Hermosa Beach pier.
Great white sharks are a protected species and the penalty is a fine of $1,000 and up to a year in jail.
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The 45-year-old general contractor said he was unaware that the junior jaws he caught with his fishing rod on May 31 was a great white. He has not been charged.
"I am not an expert on sharks," he told the newspaper. "I cannot tell the difference between a great white and a mako (shark). It took a marine biologist with an education and more than 20 years of experience to come to that conclusion."
Hermosa Pier is one of a couple of dozen piers that dot the southern California coastline. The area is popular with bathers and surfers.
Unlike global shark hot spots like Hong Kong and Durban, South Africa, Los Angeles beaches aren't ringed by protective shark netting.
Ulloa said it took four people to haul the one- to two-year-old shark up over the pier railing.
Ulloa has not been charged with a crime but Department of Fish and Game spokesperson Rebecca Hartman said she intends to file a misdemeanor charge this week. Hartman said the great white needs to be protected from anglers.
"Our laws are set up for the protection of the animals, not for us," Hartman told the Times. "If he was unsure what kind of shark it was, he should have let it go."
Marine experts say the number of great whites has decreased dramatically off the California coast in the last decade. Great whites give birth to a maximum of just two pups.
Young great whites feed on small bottom fish in coastal waters and are not considered a threat to bathers or surfers, the newspaper said. By the time they reach maturity they leave the coastal areas for deeper water.
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Name: Great White Shark, aka White Shark (Charcharodon carcharias)
Classification: Elasmobranchii (Sharks, Skates and Rays) Location: Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Habitat: Continental shelf waters and coastlines in temperate and subtropical oceans. Diet: A wide variety of bony fish. Also other sharks, sea turtles, seabirds and marine mammals. Size: Maximum known length is 20 ft and weight is more than 2,730 lbs. Description: Blue-gray to gray-brown on top. White underneath. Fusiform body, tapering at each end. Conical snout. Long gill slits. Large first dorsal fin. Cool Facts: They are the world's largest known predatory fish. They are well-equipped to find food in open ocean, possessing a highly-developed sense of smell, good eyesight, the ability to detect changes in water pressure, and an unrivaled electrical sense. Unlike other sharks, they occasionally raise their heads out of water, presumably to observe activity above the surface. Conservation Status: Vulnerable Major Threats: Commercial and recreational fishing, including poaching for fins. What Can I Do?: Visit The Shark Trust and WildAid's Shark Conservation Program for information on how you can help. |
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