Figure 3. Age composition of white sharks estimated in mark-recapture study matched to the theoretical age distribution.

The theoretical age distribution (black line with left y-axis) of all white sharks in coastal California, from birth to the predicted longevity of 30 years with a natural mortality coefficient (M) of 0.153 (∼86% survivorship), was determined using population parameters in Mollet and Cailliet [62]). The length-at-age relationship from Cailliet et al. [65] was used to determine the age of 130 white sharks (sexes combined) sampled by Jorgensen et al. [19], and presumably present in the Chapple et al. [22] study (see upper x-axis for lengths (TL cm)). The resulting age composition (black bars with right y-axis) was scaled to the mark-recapture population estimate and proportioned such that 100% of 13 year olds are accounted for in the Chapple et al. [22] population estimate of 219 white sharks.