"You are paddle-boarding next to approximately 15 great white sharks," chopper tells beachgoers

[LeftyMom]

5. When they're younger and smaller they eat fish. Their diet doesn't switch to pinnipeds until they're

Last edited Sun May 14, 2017, 01:23 AM - Edit history (1)

about 13 feet. (This is, possibly not coincidentally, the size at which they reach sexual maturity.) So a white shark smaller than eight feet is absolutely not in the habit of eating anything that a human resembles in any way.

Eight feet is overly conservative.

Prior to the edit I suggested that eight feet might be a conservative number in part to allow for the possibility of species misidentification. On further thought it's not and I stand by my suggestion that the eight foot threshold is overly conservative: The only species in California that could be misidentified as a juvenile great white are the salmon shark and the shortfin mako (aka bonito shark.) Both have a very similar body shape to the great white generally and to more slender juvenile great whites in particular. The latter can be essentially ruled out in beach scenarios as it's generally shark of the open ocean and not typically found near-shore. Both are essentially harmless: attacks on humans from makos are known but invariably involve sport fishermen engaged in shockingly stupid behavior, and salmon sharks aren't clearly identified in any attacks on humans.