New Rules Keep People Away From Sharks' Hunting Ground

October 3, 2009

Release from: Bloomberg News Service

SAN FRANCISCO - Great white sharks are going to have an easier time hunting seals in protected waters off San Francisco because new rules prohibit people from approaching and disturbing the aquatic predators.

The regulations prohibit using food, decoys, noise or other means to attract the sharks.

They also restrict onlookers from coming within 164 feet of great whites in a 2-mile band around the Farallon Islands, which are about 27 miles west of San Francisco, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Friday.

NOAA introduced the rules for the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary in time for the shark's visit to the area, typically from September through November.

Fishing for great white sharks is prohibited by California law, but onlookers sometimes distract them while they chase their prey -- seals or sea lions.

NOAA has seen boats coming too close to sharks and interrupting their feeding.