White Shark Sightings in Atlantic Canada from 1873 to 2022

Fisheries and Oceans Canada provides a dataset of White Shark (Carcharodon carcharias) sightings spanning 150 years in Atlantic Canadian waters. Records are classified as confirmed or unconfirmed based on available evidence such as pictures, videos, and descriptions. The dataset includes location information, with coordinates provided where available or approximate locations based on record descriptions.

Use Cases

• Analyze the spatial distribution of confirmed versus unconfirmed sightings over the 150-year time_range to identify historical hotspots.
• Map sighting locations to study potential shifts in White Shark presence in Atlantic Canada geography over time.
• Use the classification status (confirmed/unconfirmed) to assess data reliability and filter records for population trend analysis.

Strengths

• Covers a long-term temporal scope of 150 years (1873 to 2022) for studying historical trends.
• Includes a data quality classification system where records are reviewed and marked as confirmed or unconfirmed.
• Sourced from the authoritative government organization Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Limitations

• Sighting effort is not accounted for and is unevenly distributed across the study area, which can bias presence data.
• The dataset excludes data from satellite or acoustic tagging, limiting insights into individual shark movements.
• Not all records are confirmed, introducing uncertainty for analyses requiring verified observations.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Compiled from sighting reports and records, reviewed and classified by DFO Science based on available evidence (e.g., pictures, videos, descriptions).

Time Range

1873 to 2022

Freshness

Last updated on March 24, 2026.

Geography

Atlantic Canada