Great white sharks live in almost all coastal and offshore waters worldwide, primarily in temperate and subtropical regions where water temperatures range from about 54 to 75 °F (12 to 24 °C)
. They avoid the coldest polar waters such as those near Antarctica and the Arctic
. They are commonly found in areas with abundant prey, including seal and sea lion rookeries, and can inhabit both near-shore shallow continental shelf waters and deeper offshore pelagic zones, sometimes diving as deep as 1,200 meters (3,900 feet)
. Key regions with high concentrations of great white sharks include:
- The United States, especially along the California coast, and also from Alaska to California and Hawaii in the Pacific, and from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico in the Atlantic
- South Africa, particularly around Dyer Island, known as "shark alley," which has one of the densest populations due to its large seal colonies
- Australia and New Zealand
- Japan, Oceania, and Chile
- Some parts of the Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara and Bosphorus
Great whites are migratory and can travel long distances, sometimes venturing far offshore to areas like the "white shark café" in the Pacific Ocean, possibly for feeding or breeding
. In summary, great white sharks are globally distributed in temperate and subtropical coastal and offshore waters, with notable populations along California, South Africa, Australia/New Zealand, and parts of the Atlantic and Mediterranean
