Transoceanic dispersal and connectivity of a white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) between southern Africa and Southeast Asia

Population connectivity shapes dispersal, genetic structure, and responses to climate change. Understanding these patterns is vital for identifying threats and improving species management strategies. In May 2024, a fisher from Indonesia with a satellite tag in their possession contacted local conservationists from non-profit organisation Project Hiu. The Project Hiu staff contacted Wildlife Computers with the serial number and successfully located the tag owner. Remarkably, the tag was identified as having been attached to a 390 cm total-length (TL) subadult female white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) in May 2012 in South Africa. Through subsequent investigations, including email correspondence and interviews with the fishers, we have determined that in November 2016, a 473 cm TL female shark (misidentified at the time as a longfin mako shark, Isurus paucus) was captured in longline gear off the coast of Indonesia, Southeast Asia. This remarkable sequence of events marks the first documented movement and connectivity of a white shark between South Africa and Southeast Asia (Indonesia). Over the 4.5 years at liberty, the shark grew in length an estimated 83 cm (18.4 cm per year), supporting previous findings on growth rates for the species. This record of events highlighted both the potential for misidentification and trade of threatened and protected shark species and the increasing benefits of close collaboration with local fishers. This newly discovered link expands our understanding of their wide-ranging connectivity among remote regions, advances our knowledge of their biology and behavior, and underscores the importance of ongoing international research and conservation efforts to protect these apex predators and their habitats.