Great White Shark
Carcharodon carcharias
Partially verified
Handling & regulations: Prohibited species — must be released immediately with minimal injury and without removing it from the water; retention is never legal in the recreational Atlantic shark fishery. Included for identification/safety context, not as an expected local target: OCEARCH's satellite-tagging program has repeatedly documented individual sharks off Virginia specifically, including a juvenile ('Santiago') pinged off Norfolk in a documented fall/winter migration south from New England — real, if occasional, mid-Atlantic occurrence, not a hypothetical one. Recreational anglers must hold a federal HMS Angling or Charterboat/Headboat permit *with a shark endorsement* to legally retain any shark species at all — most anglers fishing without one must release every shark regardless of that species' individual status, and Virginia (VMRC) rules may add further restrictions on top of federal ones. Anyone targeting sharks (from shore or a vessel) is also federally required to carry a device capable of quickly cutting the leader or hook. If removing the hook would delay release, cut the leader or hook as close to the hook as possible instead — the shark does not need to be lifted, dragged onto dry sand/a pier deck, or restrained to be released safely, and a shark should stay in the water throughout release whenever that's achievable.
Identification
Large, heavy-bodied shark with a conical snout, Gray to grayish-brown above with a sharp, straight demarcation from the white underside (no gradual blending), Large, triangular, serrated teeth, Crescent-shaped tail with nearly equal upper and lower lobes
Where this fish fits
These are discovery categories describing where anglers realistically fish for this species, not a guarantee this project has confirmed regional access at every listed setting — see the linked locations below for this project's own actually-sourced spots.
- Typical season
- Late fall through winter, when satellite-tagged sharks migrating south from New England waters have been repeatedly documented passing through or wintering in mid-Atlantic/Virginia waters — not a species anyone should expect to target or regularly catch.
- Habitats
- Offshore and occasionally nearshore mid-Atlantic waters
- Food use
- Harvest restricted or prohibited
Data not yet verified.
This site hasn't checked for a fish-consumption advisory covering this species yet. That is not the same as confirmed safe — check current official guidance before eating your catch.
Seasons, size limits, and possession limits change and vary by water body. Always check the current regulations at the current regulations page before you fish.
- Bait & lures
- Beginner difficulty
- Challenging
Part of this record is confirmed against an official source; other parts are not. See the notes below for exactly which.
The prohibited/must-release-without-removing-from-water status is directly confirmed against NOAA's own recreational Atlantic shark fishery status page. The Virginia occurrence claim (the tagged shark 'Santiago' pinged specifically off Norfolk during a fall/winter migration) is directly confirmed against a news report of OCEARCH's own public tracking data, not an inferred or generic range claim — see this project's own offshore-accessibility standard in REGIONAL_SPECIES_COMPLETENESS_PHASE2_PLAN.md §B. Identification features reflect general, well-established shark-identification knowledge, not individually fact-checked against a single source.