land & sea.
The Central California white shark population sits at less than 300.
White Shark Rendezvous
A marine research team conducts long-term monitoring of white sharks off coastal Marin, keeping tabs on population health and dynamics.
MARINE ECOLOGIST PAUL KANIVE, PH.D., recalls a particular day of work in 2008 amid mundane coastal Marin conditions of dense fog and calm waters. Punctuating the otherwise forgettable day, a dorsal fin slowly broke the surface of the water, the tail following some distance behind. “With the distance, it was hard for me to put together it was the same animal,” says Kanive of first encountering a white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, while working as a research field technician near Tomales Point. White shark adults can reach impressive lengths of more than 20 feet, sizes that readily dwarf the human observer. Kanive, who now lives in Montana, returns to Marin County each fall along with local collaborators including 74 january/february 2022 marin living.
white shark expert Scot Anderson and a broader team of researchers. Together they rendezvous with white sharks that make their way back to the California coast annually from an area of the Pacific Ocean dubbed the “White Shark Cafe,” located between Baja and Hawaii. By monitoring sharks in the waters around Tomales Point — as well as the Bay Area’s Farallon and Año Nuevo islands — over time, Kanive and the team have accumulated novel insights into white shark survival rates and population trends. White sharks are identifiable by their dorsal fins, so Kanive and team have been able to monitor the return and health of individual sharks over time. “We see a lot of the same animals year after year after year, and it’s good to see old acquaintances. At the same time when you don’t
Ron Elliott
By Joseph Knelman
