A new report that scientists are calling one of the most comprehensive studies of great white sharks claims that their numbers are “surging” in the ocean off the Eastern U.S. and Canada after decades of decline.
The study by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists, which was published this month in the journal Plos One, confirms that the population of sharks has increased since about 2000 in the western North Atlantic.
The researchers behind the study credit the resurgence to conservation efforts, like a federal 1997 act that prevented hunting of great whites, and greater availability of prey.
“The species appears to be recovering,” said Cami McCandless, one of the authors, according to the Associated Press.
