LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Great white sharks off the coast of California gained protection on Friday as regulations took effect designating them candidates for future listing under the state's Endangered Species Act.
The world's largest predatory fish has been off-limits to commercial and sport fishing under California law since 1994. But great whites, particularly as juveniles, are still caught as unintentional "bycatch" in gill-net fishing for halibut, swordfish and white sea bass off California and Mexico's Baja Peninsula.