Scientists reveal secret White Shark coffee in the Pacific Ocean – Quartz

At about 1,200 nautical miles to the east of Hawaii, an ocean that researchers thought was a desert. But for reasons unknown to them, each winter, the great white sharks leave the abundant waters of the west coast of the United States and Mexico for a stay in the middle of nowhere.

Hoping to discover the secret life of the mysterious Great White Shark, scientists from Stanford University and the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California led an expedition to the so-called White Shark Coffee. Their one-month trip in April and May helped them discover that this area, about the size of Colorado, is full of "tiny, light-sensitive creatures so tempting that sharks cross the sea en masse for to reach them ". The waters are also rich in squids, bigeye tuna, blue sharks and mako and other fish.

14 years ago, Barbara Block, a marine scientist at Stanford, discovered the hidden shark hideout, the largest known white shark congregation, after she began attaching tracking tags to animals. Over the years, the data gathered revealed that, as if on a roller-skate, the great white sharks would be leaving on an annual pilgrimage in this Pacific region in December, which satellite printing had suggested. The tracking tags helped the expedition locate sharks last spring and track their movements. They also revealed unusual diving behavior that has not yet been fully understood.

During their stay in the Pacific, sharks followed a surprising schedule. During the day, they plunged up to 1400 feet – in an area known as central water at the edge of complete darkness and populated by bioluminescent fish – and went up each night to shallower waters, at about 650 feet below the surface. .

"This is the largest migration of animals on Earth – a vertical migration synchronized with the cycle of light," said Chronicle Salvador Jorgensen, expedition leader and scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. "During the day, they pass just under the light and at night they come closer to the surface to warmer, more productive water under the cover of darkness."

Although sharks ventured into the dark to hunt larger fish attracted by bioluminescence, the researchers were not able to explain another behavior they observed in male sharks. During the month of April, the men each traveled in a V-shaped pattern up to 140 times a day. It is difficult to know if the behavior is linked to mating or if he is looking for different species of fish. Scientists hope to have more clarity after analyzing the data collected.