The scientists compared this with published data elsewhere in the world, mainly South Africa, to establish a nutritional framework for the species. The study examined the stomach contents of 40 juvenile white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) caught in the NSW Shark Meshing Program. Mr Grainger said: "This evidence matches data we have from tagging white sharks that shows them spending a lot of time many metres below the surface." The study, published today on World Oceans Day in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, is an important contribution towards understanding the sharks' feeding and migratory habits.ĭr Vic Peddemors a co-author from the NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries), said: "We discovered that although mid-water fish, especially eastern Australian salmon, were the predominant prey for juvenile white sharks in NSW, stomach contents highlighted that these sharks also feed at or near the seabed." "The stereotype of a shark's dorsal fin above the surface as it hunts is probably not a very accurate picture," he said. This indicates the sharks must spend a good portion of their time foraging just above the seabed," said lead author Richard Grainger, a PhD candidate at the Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. "Within the sharks' stomachs we found remains from a variety of fish species that typically live on the seafloor or buried in the sand.
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