Gill Rakers
Gill Rakers is a greater than 17 foot long mature female white shark. She was first photographed at Guadalupe Island, Mexico in 2004 and has been resighted at the island in 2007, 2008, and 2012. She was tagged with a SPOT tag in 2012 which tracks her movements in real time. Our previous tagging data has shown that adult female white sharks spend fall at Guadalupe Island and then make a two year migration, presumably associated with an 18 month gestation cycle, returning to Guadalupe Island every other year. Following tagging, Gill Rakers moved offshore to the middle of the Pacific Ocean and then moved northward spending over a month along the coasts of California and Oregon. This is the first time we have tracked a Guadalupe Island shark that far north along the coast. She then traveled back near the coast of Baja California, Mexico, and offshore where she remained until traveling into the Sea of Cortez in April of 2014, during the known pupping season. She moved out of the Sea of Cortez late June 2014 and finally made her return to Guadalupe Island on November 14, 2014 during the presumed mating season.
This map shows tracking data for Gill Rakers.
You can follow the migration of more tagged white sharks using 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