Great whites hold a special fascination with most of us for all of the obvious reasons. According to the Florida Museum’s International Shark Attack File, they’ve also been the deadliest of any species among verified shark attacks. What the movie Jaws did to capture our imaginations, Shark Week’s taken to a whole other level over the years. We’ve all seen countless videos of great white sharks breaching when feeding on seals. Or maybe on a rare occasion in person.
In 2013, while surfing in Cabo, Ashley called me in due to activity nearby. Just as she told me why she was concerned we saw a white breach as it hit a sea lion about twenty yards from where I was surfing. Anyway, while seals and sea lions are on the menu when and where they’re available, what about the rest of the time? And what about when they’re in the waters around South Florida? Now we have a better idea.
Researchers at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science studied the contents of the stomachs of 40 white sharks and compared it to findings from other parts of the world to discern what whites are eating most of the time. Hint, it’s not seals, sea lions, or people. It turns out that Salmon is the top choice of great white sharks overall, 32% to put a number to it.
Next up a couple of real surprises. Not what’s at the surface of the water but what’s at the bottom of the sea. Seventeen percent of a great white’s diet is bottom-dwelling fish, followed by 15% of their meals coming in the form of rays and 5% consisting of reef fish. Large prey like sea lions, seals, dolphins, and other sharks make up 31% of a white shark’s diet on average. So, if it’s between you and a fish, a white would prefer the fish most of the time.
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