WHITE SHARKS, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA'S FRAGILE AND FEARED PREDATOR INCREASE AT SUMMER'S END Throughout the year white sharks can be found in the waters of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. In August, their numbers increase as elephant seals congregate at haul out sites. Divers, swimmers, and surfers, enjoying the same late summer waters, can suddenly find themselves sharing the same water. A recent attack at Stinson Beach sent a 16-year-old boogie boarder to the hospital. Knowing more about this powerful and often misunderstood predator may help prevent close encounters. Fearsome and feared, the white plays a vital role in the marine ecosystem. They are especially vulnerable to overfishing. White sharks mature late and unlike bony fish, which may produce thousands of eggs, reproduce only a few live offspring. The current world trade in shark fins for soup and the use of other various parts in health and beauty products, now threaten their very existence. A white shark's main sources of food are fish, sea lions and seals. (A surfboard's shape bears an unfortunate resemblance to a seal's when viewed from below, which is the white shark's characteristic route of attack.) For more information call Justin Kenney at (301) 713-3140. YEAR OF THE OCEAN CALENDAR OF EVENTS September 19 - October 9 Coast Weeks October 13 - 16 APEC Ocean Conference, Honolulu, HI October 6 - November 10 Smithsonian Forum — The Ocean: Earth's Last Frontier November 16 - 19, 1998 Ocean Community Conference '98 - Annual meeting of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), Baltimore, Maryland

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