Biteface

Biteface is a 14.5 foot long male great white shark. He was first photographed at Guadalupe Island, Mexico in 2001. He was named because of a large bite mark on this face the first year he was identified. This wound has since healed, but he has been seen with bite marks on his face several times since then, so the name seems fitting. Adult male white sharks show up at Guadalupe Island in August of each year and depart around January, spending the next 6 months offshore in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Biteface was tagged with a SPOT tag in 2009 which tracks his movements in real time. The tracking data shows that he makes an annual migration between Guadalupe Island and an area we refer to as the Shared Offshore Foraging Area (SOFA). The SOFA is a common offshore area utilized by adult male white sharks from both Guadalupe Island and Central California. What motivates these sharks to spend half the year in the middle of the ocean is still unknown.

Bite mark from 2003

This map shows 2.5 years of tracking data for Biteface

You can follow the migration of more tagged white sharks by downloading the app Expedition White Shark

You can sponsor this shark and help conserve and protect northeastern Pacific white sharks through the MCSI Sponsor a Shark program