Editing Great white shark (section)

== Relationship with humans ==

=== Shark bite incidents ===
{{Main|Shark attack}}

Of all shark species, the great white shark is responsible for by far the largest number of recorded shark bite incidents on humans, with 351 documented unprovoked bite incidents on humans as of 2024.<ref name="isaf" />

More than any documented bite incident, [[Peter Benchley]]'s best-selling novel ''[[Jaws (novel)|Jaws]]'' and the subsequent [[Jaws (film)|1975 film adaptation]] directed by [[Steven Spielberg]] provided the great white shark with the image of being a "[[Man-eating animal|man-eater]]" in the public mind.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Peter |last=Benchley |date=April 2000 |title=Great white sharks |journal=[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]] |page=12 |quote=considering the knowledge accumulated about sharks in the last 25 years, I couldn't possibly write Jaws today ... not in good conscience anyway ... back then, it was OK to demonize an animal. |issn=0027-9358}}</ref> While great white sharks have killed humans in at least 74 documented unprovoked bite incidents, they typically do not target them: for example, in the [[Mediterranean Sea]] there have been 31 confirmed bite incidents against humans in the last two centuries, most of which were non-fatal. Many of the incidents seemed to be "test-bites". Great white sharks also test-bite [[buoy]]s, [[flotsam]], and other unfamiliar objects, and they might grab a human or a [[surfboard]] to identify what it is.
[[File:Surfacing great white shark.jpg|thumb|left|The great white shark is one of only four kinds of shark that have been involved in a significant number of fatal unprovoked attacks on humans.|alt=Photo of open-mouthed shark at surface.]]

Many bite incidents occur in waters with low visibility or other situations which impair the shark's senses. The species appears to not like the taste of humans, or at least finds the taste unfamiliar. Further research shows that they can tell in one bite whether or not the object is worth predating upon. Humans, for the most part, are too bony for their liking. They much prefer seals, which are fat and rich in protein.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/mistaken_identity.htm |title=White Shark Attacks: Mistaken Identity |last=Martin |first=R. Aidan |year=2003 |website=Biology of Sharks and Rays |publisher=ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research |access-date=30 August 2016 |archive-date=5 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160905153552/http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/mistaken_identity.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

Studies published in 2021 by Ryan ''et al.'' in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface suggest that mistaken identity is in fact a case for many shark bite incidents perpetrated by great white sharks. Using cameras and footage of seals in aquariums as models and mounted cameras moving at the same speed and angle as a cruising great white shark looking up at the surface from below, the experiment suggests that the sharks are likely colorblind and cannot see in fine enough detail to determine whether the silhouette above them is a pinniped or a swimming human, potentially vindicating the hypothesis.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=A shark's eye view: testing the 'mistaken identity theory' behind shark bites on humans |first1=Laura A. |last1=Ryan |first2=David J. |last2=Slip |first3=Lucille |last3=Chapuis |first4=Shaun P. |last4=Collin |first5=Enrico |last5=Gennari |first6=Jan M. |last6=Hemmi |first7=Martin J. |last7=How |first8=Charlie |last8=Huveneers |first9=Victor M. |last9=Peddemors|first10=Louise|last10=Tosetto |first11=Nathan S. |last11=Hart |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |year=2021 |volume=18 |issue=183 |pages=20210533 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2021.0533 |pmid=34699727 |pmc=8548079}}</ref>

Humans are not appropriate prey because the shark's digestion is too slow to cope with a human's high ratio of bone to muscle and fat. Accordingly, in most recorded shark bite incidents, great whites broke off contact after the first bite. Fatalities are usually caused by blood loss from the initial bite rather than from critical organ loss or from whole consumption. {{As of|2024}}, of the 351 recorded unprovoked attacks, 59 were fatal.<ref>{{cite web |title=ISAF Statistics for Worldwide Unprovoked White Shark Attacks Since 1990 |url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/White/whitesharkdecade.html |date=10 February 2011 |access-date=19 August 2011 |archive-date=27 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130127141416/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/White/whitesharkdecade.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="isaf" />

However, some researchers have hypothesized that the reason the proportion of fatalities is low is not that sharks do not like human flesh, but because humans are often able to escape after the first bite. In the 1980s, John McCosker, chair of aquatic biology at the [[California Academy of Sciences]], noted that divers who dived solo and were bitten by great whites were generally at least partially consumed, while divers who followed the buddy system were generally rescued by their companion. McCosker and Timothy C. Tricas, an author and professor at the [[University of Hawaii]], suggest that a standard pattern for great whites is to make an initial devastating attack and then wait for the prey to weaken before consuming the wounded animal. Humans' ability to move out of reach with the help of others, thus foiling the attack, is unusual for a great white's prey.<ref>{{cite journal |first=T.C. |last=Tricas |author2=McCosker, John |journal=Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |series=Series 4 |title=Predatory behavior of the white shark, ''Carcharodon carcharias'', and notes on its biology |volume=43 |issue=14 |pages=221–238 |year=1984 |url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_109514_predatorybehaviourofthewhitesh1982}}</ref>

=== Shark culling ===
{{Main|Shark culling}}
[[Shark culling]] is the deliberate killing of sharks by a government in an attempt to reduce [[shark attack]]s; shark culling is often called "shark control".<ref name="shark_culling" /> These programs have been criticized by environmentalists and scientists—they say these programs harm the [[marine ecosystem]]; they also say such programs are "outdated, cruel, and ineffective".<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.ntd.tv/2018/09/04/video-endangered-hammerhead-sharks-dead-on-drum-line-in-great-barrier-reef/ |last=Phillips |first=Jack |date=4 September 2018 |title=Video: Endangered Hammerhead Sharks Dead on Drum Line in Great Barrier Reef |publisher=Ntd.tv |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919094449/https://www.ntd.tv/2018/09/04/video-endangered-hammerhead-sharks-dead-on-drum-line-in-great-barrier-reef/ |archive-date=19 September 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many different species ([[dolphins]], [[turtles]], etc.) are also killed in these programs (because of their use of [[shark nets]] and [[drum line (shark control)|drum lines]])—15,135 marine animals were killed in New South Wales' nets between 1950 and 2008,<ref name="shark_culling" /> and 84,000 marine animals were killed by Queensland authorities from 1962 to 2015.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.afd.org.au/news-articles/queenslands-shark-control-program-has-snagged-84000-animals |title=Action for Dolphins. Queensland's Shark Control Program Has Snagged 84,000 Animals |author=Thom Mitchell |date=20 November 2015 |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-date=24 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201224053505/https://www.afd.org.au/news-articles/queenslands-shark-control-program-has-snagged-84000-animals |url-status=live}}</ref>

Great white sharks are currently killed in both [[Queensland]] and [[New South Wales]] in "shark control" (shark culling) programs.<ref name="shark_culling" /> Queensland uses [[shark nets]] and [[drum line (shark control)|drum lines with baited hooks]], while New South Wales only uses nets. From 1962 to 2018, Queensland authorities killed about 50,000 sharks, many of which were great whites.<ref name="decline">{{cite journal |last1=Roff |first1=George |first2=Christopher J. |last2=Brown |first3=Mark A. |last3=Priest |first4=Peter J. |last4=Mumby |title=Decline of coastal apex shark populations over the past half century |journal=Communications Biology |volume=1 |issue=1 |year=2018 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1038/s42003-018-0233-1 |pmid=30564744 |pmc=6292889}}</ref> From 2013 to 2014 alone, 667 sharks were killed by Queensland authorities, including great white sharks.<ref name="shark_culling" /> In Queensland, great white sharks found alive on the drum lines are shot.<ref name="onegreenplanet" /> In New South Wales, between 1950 and 2008, a total of 577 great white sharks were killed in [[shark net|nets]].<ref name="shark_culling" /> Between September 2017 and April 2018, fourteen great white sharks were killed in New South Wales.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2018/08/04/sydney-shark-nets-set-stay-despite-drumline-success |last=Mackenzie |first=Bruce |date=4 August 2018 |title=Sydney Shark Nets Set to Stay Despite Drumline Success |publisher=Swellnet.com. |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-date=21 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921114712/http://www.swellnet.com/news/swellnet-dispatch/2018/08/04/sydney-shark-nets-set-stay-despite-drumline-success |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[KwaZulu-Natal]] (an area of [[South Africa]]) also has a "shark control" program that kills great white sharks and other marine life. In a 30-year period, more than 33,000 sharks were killed in KwaZulu-Natal's shark-killing program, including great whites.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.sharkangels.org/index.php/media/news/157-shark-nets |title=Shark Nets |publisher=Sharkangels.org |access-date=30 August 2019 |archive-date=19 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180919132309/http://www.sharkangels.org/index.php/media/news/157-shark-nets |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014 the state government of [[Western Australia]] led by Premier [[Colin Barnett]] implemented a [[Western Australian shark cull|policy of killing large sharks]]. The policy, colloquially referred to as the [[Western Australian shark cull]], was intended to protect users of the marine environment from shark bite incidents, following the deaths of seven people on the [[Coastline of Western Australia|Western Australian coastline]] in the years 2010–2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Media-releases/Pages/New-measures-to-combat-WA-shark-risks.aspx |title=New measures to combat WA shark risks |publisher=Department of Fisheries, Western Australia |date=10 December 2013|access-date=2 February 2014|archive-date=1 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201195519/http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Media-releases/Pages/New-measures-to-combat-WA-shark-risks.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref> Baited [[drum lines]] were deployed near popular beaches using hooks designed to catch great white sharks, as well as [[bull shark|bull]] and [[tiger shark]]s. Large sharks found hooked but still alive were shot and their bodies discarded at sea.<ref name=":5">{{citation |last=Arup |first=Tom |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=21 January 2014 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greg-hunt-grants-wa-exemption-for-shark-cull-plan-20140121-315zk.html |title=Greg Hunt grants WA exemption for shark cull plan|archive-date=22 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122181103/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/greg-hunt-grants-wa-exemption-for-shark-cull-plan-20140121-315zk.html |publisher=Fairfax Media}}</ref> The government claimed they were not [[culling]] the sharks, but were using a "targeted, localised, hazard mitigation strategy".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-22/can-governments-protect-people-from-killer-sharks/5158880 |title=Can governments protect people from killer sharks? |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=22 December 2013 |access-date=2 February 2014 |archive-date=31 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161031175236/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-12-22/can-governments-protect-people-from-killer-sharks/5158880 |url-status=live}}</ref> Barnett described opposition as "ludicrous" and "extreme", and said that nothing could change his mind.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/australia-shark-policy-stay-despite-threats-5815606 |date=29 January 2014 |title=Australia shark policy to stay, despite threats |access-date  = 6 February 2023 |agency=Associated Press |website=www.tvnz.co.nz |archive-date = 30 January 2014|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20140130064852/http://tvnz.co.nz/world-news/australia-shark-policy-stay-despite-threats-5815606 |url-status   = bot: unknown}}</ref> This policy was met with widespread condemnation from the scientific community, which showed that species responsible for bite incidents were notoriously hard to identify, that the drum lines failed to capture white sharks, as intended, and that the government also failed to show any correlation between their drum line policy and a decrease in shark bite incidents in the region.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.southernfriedscience.com/more-than-100-shark-scientists-including-me-oppose-the-cull-in-western-australia/ |title=More than 100 shark scientists, including me, oppose the cull in Western Australia |date=23 December 2013 |language=en-US |access-date=31 August 2016 |archive-date=22 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822234618/http://www.southernfriedscience.com/more-than-100-shark-scientists-including-me-oppose-the-cull-in-western-australia/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Attacks on boats ===
Great white sharks infrequently bite and sometimes even sink boats. Only five of the 108 authenticated unprovoked shark bite incidents reported from the Pacific Coast during the 20th century involved [[kayak]]ers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/unprovoked_kayaker.htm |title=Unprovoked White Shark Attacks on Kayakers |publisher=Shark Research Committee |access-date=14 September 2008 |archive-date=20 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720031600/http://www.sharkresearchcommittee.com/unprovoked_kayaker.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In a few cases they have bitten boats up to {{cvt|10|m}} in length. They have bumped or knocked people overboard, usually biting the boat from the stern. In one case in 1936, a large shark leapt completely into the [[South Africa]]n fishing boat ''Lucky Jim'', knocking a crewman into the sea. Tricas and McCosker's underwater observations suggest that sharks are attracted to boats by the electrical fields they generate, which are picked up by the ampullae of Lorenzini and confuse the shark about whether or not wounded prey might be nearby.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tricas |first1=Timothy C. |last2=McCosker |first2=John E. |title=Predatory Behaviour of the White Shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), with Notes on its Biology |year=1984 |journal=Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences |volume=43 |issue=14 |pages=221–238 |url=http://www.hawaii.edu/fishlab/pubs/Tricas%20&%20McCosker%201984.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907163257/http://www.hawaii.edu/fishlab/pubs/Tricas%20&%20McCosker%201984.pdf |archive-date=7 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== In captivity ===
{{See also|Monterey Bay Aquarium#Great white sharks}}
[[File:Great white aqurium.jpg|thumb|left|Great white shark in the [[Monterey Bay Aquarium]] in September 2006|alt=Photo of shark]]

Prior to August 1981, no great white shark in captivity lived longer than 11 days. In August 1981, a great white survived for 16 days at [[SeaWorld San Diego]] before being released.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-10-02-great-white_x.htm |title=Great white shark sets record at California aquarium |work=[[USA Today]] |date=2 October 2004 |access-date=27 September 2006 |archive-date=7 January 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107233833/http://www.usatoday.com/news/science/2004-10-02-great-white_x.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The idea of containing a live great white at [[SeaWorld Orlando]] was used in the 1983 film ''[[Jaws 3-D]]''.

[[Monterey Bay Aquarium]] first attempted to display a great white in 1984, but the shark died after 11 days because it did not eat.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/08/462455785/great-white-shark-dies-after-just-3-days-in-captivity-at-japan-aquarium |title=Great White Shark Dies After Just 3 Days In Captivity At Japan Aquarium |last=Hopkins |first=Christopher Dean |date=8 January 2016 |work=NPR |access-date=21 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170403122512/https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/08/462455785/great-white-shark-dies-after-just-3-days-in-captivity-at-japan-aquarium |archive-date=3 April 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2003, Monterey researchers captured a small female and kept it in a large netted pen near [[Malibu, California|Malibu]] for five days. They had the rare success of getting the shark to feed in captivity before its release.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/16/BAGCM8PN3E1.DTL |title=Great white shark puts jaws on display in aquarium tank |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=16 September 2004 |access-date=27 September 2006 |first=Alan |last=Gathright |archive-date=28 August 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050828115804/http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/09/16/BAGCM8PN3E1.DTL |url-status=live}}</ref> Not until September 2004 was the aquarium able to place a great white on long-term exhibit. A young female, which was caught off the coast of [[Ventura, California|Ventura]], was kept in the aquarium's {{Convert|3.8|e6l|e6USgal|0|abbr=unit}} Outer Bay exhibit for 198 days before she was released in March 2005. She was tracked for 30 days after release.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mbayaq.org/cr/whiteshark.asp |title=White Shark Research Project |publisher=[[Monterey Bay Aquarium]]|access-date=27 September 2006|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119071210/http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/whiteshark.aspx|archive-date=19 January 2013}}</ref> On the evening of 31 August 2006, the aquarium introduced a juvenile male caught outside [[Santa Monica Bay]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/01/MNG1IKTP904.DTL |title=Great white shark introduced at Monterey Bay Aquarium |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=1 September 2003 |access-date=27 September 2006 |first=Chuck |last=Squatriglia |archive-date=6 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081206001357/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/01/MNG1IKTP904.DTL |url-status=live}}</ref> His first meal as a captive was a large [[salmon]] steak on 8 September 2006, and as of that date, he was estimated to be {{cvt|1.72|m|in}} in length and to weigh approximately {{cvt|47|kg}}. He was released on 16 January 2007, after 137 days in captivity.

Monterey Bay Aquarium housed a third great white, a juvenile male, for 162 days between 27 August 2007, and 5 February 2008. On arrival, he was {{cvt|1.4|m|ft}} long and weighed {{cvt|30.6|kg}}. He grew to {{cvt|1.8|m|ft}} and {{cvt|64|kg}} before release. A juvenile female came to the Outer Bay Exhibit on 27 August 2008. While she did swim well, the shark fed only once during her stay and was tagged and released on 7 September 2008. Another juvenile female was captured near Malibu on 12 August 2009, introduced to the Outer Bay exhibit on 26 August 2009, and was successfully released into the wild on 4 November 2009.<ref name="Monterey">{{cite web |url=http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_whiteshark/whiteshark_ours.aspx |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium |title=Learn All About Our New White Shark |access-date=28 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120151638/http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_whiteshark/whiteshark_ours.aspx |archive-date=20 November 2009}}</ref> The Monterey Bay Aquarium introduced a 1.4-m-long male into their redesigned "Open Sea" exhibit on 31 August 2011. He was exhibited for 55 days, and was released into the wild on 25 October the same year. However, the shark was determined to have died shortly after release via an attached electronic tag. The cause of death is not known.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/09/01/new-great-white-shark-goes-on-display-at-monterey-bay-aquarium/ |title=New great white shark goes on display at Monterey Bay Aquarium |date=1 September 2011 |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=24 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024124707/https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/09/01/new-great-white-shark-goes-on-display-at-monterey-bay-aquarium/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/11/03/great-white-shark-dies-shortly-after-release-from-monterey-aquarium/ |title=Great White Shark Dies Shortly After Release From Monterey Aquarium |date=3 November 2011 |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415021434/https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2011/11/03/great-white-shark-dies-shortly-after-release-from-monterey-aquarium/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-nov-03-la-trb-shark-monterey-aquarium-20111103-story.html |title=Great white shark dies after release from Monterey Bay Aquarium |date=3 November 2011 |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=8 July 2020 |archive-date=21 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021101154/https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-xpm-2011-nov-03-la-trb-shark-monterey-aquarium-20111103-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

The Monterey Bay Aquarium does not plan to exhibit any more great whites, as the main purpose of containing them was scientific. As data from captive great whites were no longer needed, the institute has instead shifted its focus to study wild sharks.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/white-shark |title=White Shark |publisher=Monterey Bay Aquarium |access-date=21 August 2021 |archive-date=28 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628011756/https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/white-shark |url-status=live}}</ref>

One of the largest adult great whites ever exhibited was at Japan's [[Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium]] in 2016, where a {{cvt|3.5|m|ft}} male was exhibited for three days before dying.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Great White Shark Dies at Aquarium in Japan |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2016/01/08/great-white-shark-dies-at-japan-aquarium/?mod=e2fb |newspaper=Wall Street Journal |access-date=9 January 2016 |first=Jun |last=Hongo |date=8 January 2016 |archive-date=10 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110165031/http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2016/01/08/great-white-shark-dies-at-japan-aquarium/?mod=e2fb |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Great white shark dies after three days in Japanese aquarium |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/12086603/Okinawa-Aquarium-showcases-only-great-white-shark-in-captivity-in-the-world.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107142051/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/12086603/Okinawa-Aquarium-showcases-only-great-white-shark-in-captivity-in-the-world.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 January 2016 |website=Telegraph.co.uk|access-date=9 January 2016}}</ref> Perhaps the most famous captive was a {{cvt|2.4|m|ft}} female named Sandy, which in August 1980 became the only great white to be housed at the [[California Academy of Sciences]]' [[Steinhart Aquarium]] in [[San Francisco]], California. She was released because she would not eat and constantly bumped against the walls.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/electroreception.htm |title=Electroreception |publisher=Elasmo-research |access-date=27 September 2006 |archive-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190211140806/http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/white_shark/electroreception.htm |url-status=live}}</ref>

Due to the vast amounts of resources required and the subsequent cost to keep a great white shark alive in captivity, their dietary preferences, size, migratory nature, and the stress of capture and containment, permanent exhibition of a great white shark is likely to be unfeasible.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/the-reason-you-never-see-a-great-white-shark-in-an-aquarium#:~:text=Basically%2C%20there%20are%20two%20main%20reasons%20great%20whites,of%20the%20oceans%20no%20matter%20what%20zookeepers%20do. |title=There's a Reason You'll Never See a Great White Shark in an Aquarium |date=11 July 2016 |access-date=6 September 2020 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926020628/https://www.sciencealert.com/the-reason-you-never-see-a-great-white-shark-in-an-aquarium#:~:text=Basically%2C%20there%20are%20two%20main%20reasons%20great%20whites,of%20the%20oceans%20no%20matter%20what%20zookeepers%20do. |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Shark tourism ===
{{Main|Shark cage diving}}
Cage diving is most common at sites where great whites are frequent including the coast of South Africa, the [[Neptune Islands]] in South Australia,<ref>{{cite web |title=Shark cage diving |url=http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/marineparks/enjoy/shark-cage-diving |publisher=Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources|access-date=11 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409072843/http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/marineparks/Enjoy/shark-cage-diving |archive-date=9 April 2013}}</ref> and [[Guadalupe Island]] in [[Baja California (state)|Baja California]]. The popularity of cage diving and swimming with sharks is at the focus of a booming tourist industry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Squires |first=Nick |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/256863.stm |title=Swimming With Sharks |publisher=BBC |date=18 January 1999|access-date=21 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030817170427/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/256863.stm |archive-date=17 August 2003}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Simon |first=Bob |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/swimming-with-sharks-06-12-2005/ |title=Swimming With Sharks |publisher=[[60 Minutes]] |date=11 December 2005 |access-date=22 January 2010 |archive-date=19 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019222305/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/06/60minutes/main1099368.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> A common practice is to [[chumming|chum]] the water with pieces of fish to attract the sharks. These practices may make sharks more accustomed to people in their environment and to associate human activity with food; a potentially dangerous situation. By drawing bait on a wire towards the cage, tour operators lure the shark to the cage, possibly striking it, exacerbating this problem. Other operators draw the bait away from the cage, causing the shark to swim past the divers.

At present, hang baits are illegal off Isla Guadalupe and reputable dive operators do not use them. Operators in South Africa and Australia continue to use hang baits and [[pinniped]] decoys.<ref name="www.bluewaterhunter.com">{{cite web |title=Blue Water Hunting Successfully |url=http://www.bluewaterhunter.com/education/education_successfully.html |publisher=Blue Water Hunter |access-date=20 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818030820/http://www.bluewaterhunter.com/education/education_successfully.html |archive-date=18 August 2012}}</ref> In South Australia, playing rock music recordings underwater, including the [[AC/DC]] album ''[[Back in Black]]'' has also been used experimentally to attract sharks.<ref>[http://www.surfersvillage.com/content/great-white-sharks-favorite-tune-back-black "A Great white shark's favorite tune? 'Back in Black'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416021034/http://www.surfersvillage.com/content/great-white-sharks-favorite-tune-back-black |date=16 April 2016 }} ''Surfersvillage Global Surf News'' (3 June 2011). Retrieved 30 January 2014.</ref>

Companies object to being blamed for shark bite incidents, pointing out that [[lightning]] tends to strike humans more often than sharks bite humans.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/attacks/relarisklightning.htm |title=Shark Attacks Compared to Lightning |publisher=[[Florida Museum of Natural History]] |date=18 July 2003 |access-date=7 November 2006 |archive-date=15 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121215171334/http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/attacks/relarisklightning.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> Their position is that further research needs to be done before banning practices such as chumming, which may alter natural behaviour.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/3716093.stm |title=SA shark attacks blamed on tourism |publisher=BBC |date=15 April 2004|access-date=24 October 2006 |first=Richard |last=Hamilton|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323072204/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3716093.stm |archive-date=23 March 2012}}</ref> One compromise is to only use chum in areas where whites actively patrol anyway, well away from human leisure areas. Also, responsible dive operators do not feed sharks. Only sharks that are willing to scavenge follow the chum trail and if they find no food at the end then the shark soon swims off and does not associate chum with a meal. It has been suggested that government licensing strategies may help enforce these [[sustainable tourism|responsible tourism]].<ref name="www.bluewaterhunter.com" />

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Chuming the water.jpg|alt=Photo of man dropping chum off the side of a boat|Putting [[chumming|chum]] in the [[water]]
File:Great white Dyer island 2010-07.jpg|A great white shark approaches divers in a cage off Dyer Island, Western Cape, South Africa
File:Great white shark and cage diving 2.wmv.OGG|A great white shark approaches a cage
File:White shark cage diving, Gansbaai.jpg|Tourists in a cage near [[Gansbaai]]
</gallery>