Great White Sharks California Now Protected in Endangered Species Act

Beginning March 1, Friday, the Great White Sharks in California will be protected under California’s Endangered Species Act.

The state Fish and Game commission agreed last month to list the shark as a candidate for state protection. The protection will become official Friday when the panel’s action is published in California Regulatory Notice Register.

Targeted sport and commercial fishing of great whites has been banned in waters off California since the mid 1990s.

Thanks to the protection, an extensive study of great white populations off the California coast will be conducted in early 2014.

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