South Africa’s Great White Shark Population At Risk of Extinction

South Africa’s great white sharks are at risk of disappearing due to pollution, human interference, and a limited gene pool, according to a new study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.
A great white shark.
Scientists from Stellenbosch University spent six years tracking great white populations in Gansbaai, a fishing town and shark hotspot in western South Africa. They estimated there are 350 to 520 great whites remaining along the country’s coastline — 52 percent fewer than previously thought. “The numbers”¦ are extremely low. If the situation stays the same, South Africa’s great white sharks are heading for possible extinction,” Sara Andreotti, a marine biologist and lead author of the study, said in a statement. The scientists said shark nets, poaching, habitat encroachment, pollution, and loss of food were all to blame for the sharks’ demise. Low genetic diversity among the remaining sharks would make it difficult for the population to bounce back, they said.