On August 2, 1997 California Governor Pete Wilson signed Senator Mike Thompson's bill (SB 144) into law prohibiting the deliberate take of white sharks in state waters. This landmark victory in shark protection came about through the efforts of the Center for Marine Conservation, the Point Reyes Bird Observatory and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, and was supported by over two dozen conservation, fishing, surfing, and scientific organizations, including the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and American Elasmobranch Society.

This new law repeals the sunset date on a 1993 state law that made intentional taking of white sharks illegal in California waters. Exceptions to the law are made for scientific and educational research and incidental catch in selected net fisheries. Thompson's bill is the lead ship in an unprecedented 'flotilla' of 30 coast and ocean protection bills to become California law.

White sharks have become popular trophy fish around the world, each one being worth thousands of dollars. Also caught incidentally in commercial fisheries, the valuable fins and jaws create an incentive to kill sharks that may otherwise be able to survive if released unharmed.

Sharks are especially susceptible to overfishing because they generally grow slowly, mature late, and have few young. Recognizing this vulnerability, the United States government protected white sharks in the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. The white shark is also protected in waters off South Africa and Australia.