White Shark Habitat Use at Guadalupe Island

White sharks are occasionally seen and/or captured in the Gulf of California at Cedros Island, San Benito Island, but Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico is considered one of the most important white shark aggregation sites in the eastern Pacific. White sharks are present at the island from July to January, with numbers peaking between August and December. A study of the habitat use of the sharks at the island, suggests that after juvenile white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) have reached at least 180 cm TL (5.9') they start arriving at the island from nursery grounds on the mainland, and remain close to the island during the day for several months swimming between the surface and 50m/65' in sea temperatures from 14 to 20°C/57 to 68°F.

Meanwhile, the adults move offshore into deep waters during the day and stay close to the island during the night, presenting a somewhat broader tolerance of cooler waters from 9 to 20°C/48 to 68°F.

Hoyos-Padilla EM, Klimley AP, Galván-Magaña F, Antoniou A. (2016) Contrasts in the movements and habitat use of juvenile and adult white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) at Guadalupe Island, Mexico. Anim Biotelemetry 4, 14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-016-0106-7