WHY NO AQUARIUM HAS THE TECHNOLOGY TO KEEP A GREAT WHITE SHARK

No aquarium in the world has a Great White shark on display. Have you ever wondered why?

An aquarium is a great place to appreciate and learn about marine wildlife. You can see exotic sea creatures such as dolphins, jellyfish, certain breeds of shark, and in some rare cases, even whales.

But one thing you're highly unlikely to spot is a Great White, the champagne of sharks!

But why is this? You'd be interested to know that Great White sharks have been put into aquariums since the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, but they never lasted long. Over the decades, what they noticed was strange behaviour of the Great White's, for instance, some needed assistance to swim and none of them would eat. The longest recorded time a fully grown Great White shark remained alive in captivity was only 16 days.

A report on this baffling matter got released in the mid-1970s, which stated that it was very possible that the Great White sharks captured and put into captivity were already in the process of dying, that it was just a coincidence. But further research proved that, even in highly specialised and suited environments, it was incredibly difficult to keep a Great White shark alive in captivity, but it was possible.

The Monterey Aquarium was the only aquarium that managed to keep a Great White shark alive for a few months in captivity, but under unique conditions. The shark was only four feet long and one year old, and the tank was specially designed to allow enough space for the Great White to move around in, and to deliver the required oxygen suited to keep the shark alive. However, they noticed that the Great White kept on injuring itself on the walls of the tank, and the aquarium decided to release it into the wild once again. Unfortunately, the poor Great White died soon after and no one knows why.

The only recorded attempt of an aquarium keeping a Great White in captivity after that was in Japan. The Japanese aquarium attempted to keep a fully grown Great White shark alive, but due to not having the right technology to perfectly replicate their natural environment, it died after just three days.

Take a look at the video below by YouTube channel, Vox, on Why No Aquarium Has a Great White Shark.