TITLE:
Circling the Blood in the Water: The Difficulties in Endangered Species Protections for the Great White Shark
AUTHORS:
Derek Julio
KEYWORDS:
Endangered Species Act, ESA, CESA, California Endangered Species Act, Great White Shark
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.5 No.11,
August
29,
2014
ABSTRACT:
The purpose of legislation
like the Endangered Species Act is to provide a means to conserve the
ecosystems of endangered and threatened species, but not all species that may
appear to need conservation are granted protection. An estimated 100 million
sharks are killed each year largely due to exploitation, yet few shark species
are ever granted protection under state or federal endangered species acts. The
Northeastern Pacific population of the Great White Shark is no exception.
Despite the numerous threats facing the white shark, NOAA denied a petition to
list it as an endangered or threatened species under the federal Endangered
Species Act. In light of the pending California decision to list the white
shark under its state endangered species act, this paper considers whether or
not such extreme protections are necessary. This paper first discusses the
threats facing the white shark, the listing processes of both the federal and
the California endangered species acts, and NOAA’s 12-month negative finding.
Finally, this paper concludes that endangered species protections are not
warranted in the case of the Northeastern Pacific white shark because of prior
government intervention and conservation efforts already in place.