California White Shark Project

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California White Shark Project

We are dedicated scientists researching the population of white sharks off the coast of California.

The California White Shark Project researches the population of white sharks off the central coast of California for the purpose of informing policy, regulation, local stakeholders, and scientific discovery. After our institutional funding was cut as a result of COVID-19 Dr. Paul Kanvie and Scot Anderson created this 501 (c)(3) nonprofit to continue researching these vital marine predators.

09/08/2026

Another one of the large female white sharks in our database. 🦈

Female white sharks are believed to take decades to reach s*xual maturity, making their survival particularly important to the long-term persistence of the population.

Documenting these large females—and tracking their presence, absence, and return over time—is an important part of understanding the long-term status and dynamics of our local white shark population.

These data were collected under permit MULTI-2023-002-A1.

09/02/2026

Here is Paul’s first published scientific manuscript where he is first author, meaning he collected data, conducted the analysis, and was the primary writer of text. (https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2018-0142)

This paper was based on a six-year mark-recapture study of subadult and adult white sharks in Central California.

The primary results estimated an apparent survival rate of 0.90; SE = 0.04 averaged across the sub-adult and adult white sharks, a first estimate based on empirical data (meaning we went out into the field and collected it). Additionally, the s*x-ratio was estimated to be approximately 2:1 males for every female after accounting for imperfect detection and s*x assignment using a statistical method that accounts for animals in the dataset that were never assigned s*x.

This was considerably less skewed than the 3:1 male-to-female ratio observed in the field, because males were estimated to be roughly twice as likely as females to be detected. Males are easier to identify because they have claspers while females do not, therefore the model estimates that unknown s*xed animals are more likely to be females.

Link (also on our website!) https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/cjfas-2018-0142

08/25/2026

Technology has come a long way since 1987 when Scot Anderson first stepped foot on the Farallon Islands… The cameras got a lot better and a whole lot smaller!

08/19/2026

We had an absolutely amazing time Old Princeton Landing Public House and Grill celebrating Steve Hawk launch of his new novel Nearshore. Grab your copy online! Or at a local bookstore near you…. Ink Spell Books

It is so great to be a part of the Half Moon Bay community🦈

08/17/2026

This video was taken during a past research season at the Farallon Islands, when an algal bloom—often referred to as a “red tide”—turned the surrounding water a striking reddish-brown.

Swimming along side the boat is a large male white shark.

Algal blooms are a natural phenomenon and can be influenced by a combination of environmental conditions, including nutrients, sunlight, ocean currents, upwelling, and water temperature.

It will be interesting to see what conditions we encounter during this year’s field season and whether we continue to document events like this around the Farallon Islands.

These data were collected under permit MULTI-2023-002-A1.

08/12/2026

One week from today! 📚🌊 Join us at Old Princeton Landing Public House and Grill for the launch of Steve Hawk’s book tour!

We’ll be tabling alongside some other amazing local organizations, including our friends at Surfrider San Mateo County.

Come hear from Steve about his new novel, Near Shore, learn more about the inspiration behind the book, and spend the evening with us on the coast.

Reserve your copy today through Ink Spell Books, and we’ll see you next week!

P.S- We will have a limited amount of T-Shirts for sale, locally screen printed by Black Stamp 👀

08/08/2026

Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration (Check out their website for more information and live footage)

Paul is back from his trip with NOAA Ocean Exploration and their awesome team of scientists and operators.

During the 2026 Cook Islands ROV Exploration cruise, scientists made an incredible discovery while exploring the southwestern part of the Cook Islands’ exclusive economic zone: fossil shark teeth hiding among polymetallic nodules on the deep seafloor.

And these weren’t just any shark teeth. Many measured more than 3 inches long— belonging to a megladon-the largest shark (and largest fish) known to have ever lived. 🦈

Although megalodons have been extinct for more than 3 million years, their fossilized teeth can tell us much more than just how big these ancient predators were.

As teeth sink through the ocean and become buried on the seafloor, they absorb trace and rare earth elements from the surrounding environment. Scientists can analyze elements such as neodymium preserved in the teeth to help reconstruct ancient ocean circulation patterns.

Even more fascinating? These teeth can become the nucleus of polymetallic nodules, with minerals like manganese and iron slowly accumulating around them layer by layer over millions of years.

📸 Credit: NOAA Ocean Exploration

08/06/2026

Our fall research season is just around the corner, and we look forward to bringing you the best available data on our local white shark population.

If you’d like to follow along, sign up for our email list—we only send 4–5 emails per year! You’ll receive updates on our latest research findings, field season highlights, and information about our two fundraising events this October.

Oh—and we almost forgot… Happy Shark Week to all those who celebrate! We feel incredibly fortunate to spend so much time observing these animals in their natural environment.

We hope you’ll follow along as we share this season’s discoveries.

Thank you,
Team CWSP

These data were collected under permit MULTI-2023-002-A1.

08/02/2026

Join us at Old Princeton Landing Public House and Grill on August 18th to celebrate Steve Hawk ‘s newest novel-Near Shore! It’s a surf-noir thriller set along the coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz, with Half Moon Bay as the epicenter.

CWSP will have a table at the event in addition to several other groups like our friends at Surfrider San Mateo County

Some copies will be available for sale that night via HMB’s local independent bookseller, Ink Spell Books. If you pre-order through Ink Spell’s website, they promise to have one there with your name on it!

We hope to see you there -5PM🦈🌊

Photo Credit: Credit : Toni Bird; Viking People Magazine

07/28/2026

Our captains stay busy during the summer (also known as our ‘off-season’ for shark research). This is Captain Pat Conroy on board a recent CCFRP trip!

CCFRP is statewide, and each region is run by a different local university. This specific trip was with Cal Poly students. It is a long-term marine monitoring program that evaluates the health and effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).

“I’ve done a bunch of trips, enjoy the fishing, meeting the new young biologists (that was me 40 years ago), and being on a boat where I’m not in charge!”-Pat

P.S- you can get a shark hat like Pat’s online californiawhitesharkproject.org

Address

Inverness, CA
94937

Website

http://www.californiawhitesharkproject.org/, https://www.californiawhitesharkproject.org/donate

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