Northeast Pacific Corridor is an important movement area for White Sharks.

Satellite-tagged White Sharks regularly and predictably move through this area during their annual migrations between the coast of California and northern Baja California, and an offshore focal area known as the ‘White Shark Café’ (Boustany et al. 2002; Jorgensen et al. 2010; BA Block et al. unpubl. data 2026) or the ‘Shared Offshore Foraging Area’ (Nasby-Lucas et al. 2009). A study tracked 99 sub-adult and adult White Sharks (45 females, 39 males, 15 unknown sex) with pop-up archival satellite tags between 2000–2025 (Boustany et al. 2002; Jorgensen et al. 2010; BA Block et al. unpubl. data 2026). Sharks were tagged at known aggregation sites in central California (Año Nuevo, Tomales Point, and the Farallon Islands) during seasonal surveys in the boreal autumn and winter months. Each winter, almost all sub-adult and adult White Sharks (>95% tagged individuals) depart coastal aggregation sites for a 2,000–5,000 km round-trip migration to offshore sub-tropical and tropical pelagic habitats. Animals return to the coast in late summer, with an average arrival date of August 19^th ± 45 days (Jorgensen et al. 2010; S Andrzejaczek et al. unpubl. data 2026). The size-at-maturity is defined as (>450 cm total length (TL) for females and >380 cm TL for males, and subadults are >300 cm TL (Francis 1996; Pratt 1996; Tanaka et al. 2021). White Sharks spend approximately 3–4 months (mean = 105 days; Andrzejaczek et al. 2025) in coastal habitats, before travelling offshore and moving around the White Shark Café region. The location of offshore habitat use within the western part of this area is dynamic and variable between individuals and years (S Andrzejaczek et al. unpubl. data 2026). However, White Sharks generally follow a similar path from central California southwest to the White Shark Café region that extends to ~1,500 km east of Hawaii.

While coastal aggregations in California are known feeding hotspots for White Sharks hunting pinnipeds at haul out sites, the drivers of offshore movement remain unconfirmed but are hypothesised to be foraging or reproduction related (Jorgensen et al. 2012). Foraging is likely to occur throughout this corridor, given the extended duration of the migration and the fact that immature individuals, which would not be engaged in reproductive behaviours, have also been tracked on offshore migrations (BA Block et al. unpubl. data 2026). Further support comes from stable isotope evidence indicating that White Sharks consume pelagic prey, such as squid and tuna, while offshore (Carlisle et al. 2012). Satellite tag data reveal sharks diving to mesopelagic depths (Jorgensen et al. 2012), likely to access these prey resources. With respect to reproduction, mature females may use the warmer offshore waters to aid gestation. Although females are often absent from coastal aggregation sites for periods exceeding one year, return intervals are highly variable rather than fixed; a quantitative analysis of a large acoustic and photo-identification dataset from central California showed substantially higher and stochastic, non-Markovian state transitional probabilities for females than males (Chapple et al. 2016), and individual variability in return rates is also evident in long-term telemetry data (Andrzejaczek et al. 2025; S Andrzejaczek et al. unpubl. data 2026). These extended and irregular absences are consistent with an approximately 2–3-year reproductive cycle, combining an estimated 18-month gestation period with a probable resting year, and with potentially asynchronous reproductive timing among individuals (Bruce 2008). Limited longer-term SPOT-tag deployments support extended offshore residencies, with some females remaining offshore for up to 15–16 months (Domeier & Nasby-Lucas 2013). Neonates and young-of-the-year are subsequently observed at coastal sites in southern California and western Baja California (Anderson et al. 2021).

A second study tracked 52 White Sharks with pop-up archival satellite tags after tagging them at Guadalupe Island, Mexico, between 2000–2007 (Domeier & Nasby-Lucas 2008). Tagged sharks included 36 males, 11 females, and five of unknown sex, with 63.3% of animals being mature (19 of 30 with maturity status recorded). They displayed the same seasonal migration as the California-tagged White Sharks, also swimming to the offshore ‘White Shark Café’ region. Tagged sharks spent 5–8 months at Guadalupe Island and left the island between late December and early May (average 15 February). Transit time was fast (mean = 16 days), and sharks spent most of their time at the surface with occasional deep dives, indicating directional movement. They then spent an average of 140 days in the offshore habitat. Males arrived back at Guadalupe Island in July, while females remained in the offshore habitat for longer into early autumn. Diving data strongly indicated feeding in the offshore habitat, highlighting that the migration is likely to link distant feeding sites (Domeier & Nasby-Lucas 2008). Although these tracking data are historical, the boundaries of this area are slightly expanded at the southern limit based on the tracks from Guadalupe Island, also considering that they displayed the same migration as the California-tagged White Sharks.