The Monterey Bay Aquarium placed a small white shark on exhibit Tuesday evening (September 14), three weeks after she was caught inadvertently in a commercial fishing net in Southern California.

The aquarium hopes to keep her on long-term exhibit � and, in the process, to change public attitudes and promote protection of this feared and much-maligned ocean predator.

The young shark, a 4-foot, 4-inch female weighing 62 pounds, was brought north Tuesday in a 3,000-gallon mobile life support transport vehicle. She had been held since August 20 in a 4-milliongallon ocean pen off Malibu and was feeding in the pen before she was brought to Monterey. She was caught in a commercial halibut gillnet by a crew fishing off Huntington Beach. This morning (September 15) she was successfully navigating the million-gallon, multi-species Outer Bay exhibit, said aquarium veterinarian Dr. Mike Murray. Aquarium personnel are monitoring her behavior, offering food and evaluating whether she will remain on long-term exhibit, he said.

Exhibit of a white shark in Monterey is another benchmark in the aquarium�s three-year project to study young white sharks off Southern California and to determine whether it�s possible to keep one on long-term exhibit.

There are no other white sharks on display in the world today, and no aquarium has ever exhibited a white shark for more than 16 days. Of the 37-plus white sharks kept at aquariums over the years, most were unintentionally caught in commercial fishing gear and brought directly to aquariums.

�Visitor studies have established that the experience of seeing live animals in an aquarium can have a significant and lasting impact on people,� said Cynthia Vernon, the aquarium�s vice president of conservation programs. �If we succeed in the long-term exhibit of a white shark, we can raise awareness about the threats they face and mobilize public support for white shark conservation. It�s been true with other sharks we�ve exhibited over the years, and I believe it will be true with white sharks, too.�

�Given the way white sharks have been demonized in popular culture, a change in public attitude is critical if we want to assure their survival,� she added. �We have strong shark conservation messages to share with people. The appeal of live animals makes our visitors more receptive to hearing and acting on those messages.�

�We�ve had some significant accomplishments with this program, and bringing a white shark back to Monterey is a big step,� said Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry for the aquarium.

�We�re hopeful that the slow and systematic approach we�ve taken can succeed where past attempts have not.�

But, he cautioned, �We still have to see how she does in the exhibit, and she has to feed. That�s the key.�

If the shark doesn�t thrive, Murray said, the aquarium�s goal is to return her to the wild if at all possible.

There is general agreement in the marine science community that past failures with white sharks were the result of the stress of capture, inability to encourage the sharks to feed, and inadequate exhibit design.

In the Monterey Bay Aquarium project, collecting white sharks has been the subject of a focused multi-year effort involving aquarium staff, scientists, a veterinarian and fishermen, said Dr. Randy Kochevar, the aquarium�s science communications manager. This approach, developed in consultation with an outside panel of shark experts, was designed to minimize the stresses of collection, holding and transport, he said.

The field project includes a research component in which young sharks are fitted with electronic data tags to reveal more about their habitat preferences in the wild. Those data will be shared with wildlife officials who can use them to inform management decisions involving young white sharks.

In 2002 and 2003, four young white sharks were tagged, and data from their tags recovered by scientists. This year, two more young sharks were tagged. Data from their tags will be recovered when the tags pop free early in 2005.

And in July 2003, a female shark similar in size to the one just brought to Monterey was held in the ocean pen for five days. That shark was observed feeding in prior to her release back to the wild�a rare documented instance of a white shark feeding in a captive situation.

�If this new shark feeds and does well in the exhibit, we�ll begin long-term feeding and growth studies so we can learn how quickly white sharks grow, and how efficiently they utilize the food they eat,� Kochevar said.

The Outer Bay exhibit was designed specifically to accommodate open ocean animals. It is home to Galapagos, scalloped hammerhead and soupfin sharks, as well as bluefin tuna weighing 250 pounds or more, yellowfin tuna, barracuda, sea turtles, ocean sunfish and other open ocean species. While the white shark remains on exhibit, the public can see her daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and online via the aquarium�s streaming Outer Bay web cam from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily (Pacific time), at www.montereybayaquarium.org. (Specific link: http://www.mbayaq.org/efc/efc_hp/hp_obw_cam.asp). White shark numbers are in decline worldwide, in part because they�re slow to reproduce and because of growing fishing pressure that is decimating all shark species. White sharks are now a protected species in California and other U.S. coastal waters, as well as in South Africa, Australia, Mexico and other nations. Their fearsome reputation has also made them a target of trophy hunters and the curio trade.

In October, white sharks will be considered for additional protection by the 166 nations that are parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES). �Our hope is that by exhibiting a white shark, we can help build public support for white shark conservation initiatives,� Vernon said. The aquarium already presents strong shark conservation messages as part of its live exhibits, both in its permanent �Vanishing Wildlife� gallery and in the �Sharks: Myth and Mystery� special exhibition that opened in April 2004.

The aquarium encourages the public to get involved in shark conservation by using its �Seafood Watch� consumer pocket guide to sustainable seafood. The guide, and supporting materials aimed at restaurateurs and seafood retailers, highlight �best choice� fisheries, including those that have lower impact on non-target species � including sharks.

The mission of the Monterey Bay Aquarium is to inspire conservation of the oceans. The aquarium celebrates its 20th anniversary on October 20, 2004.

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EDITORS: High-resolution digital images and video b-roll are available through Public Relations.