Great White Shark (Getty Images)
"The finding, a result of eight years of photographing and identifying individual sharks in the group, is an important indicator of the overall health of the marine environment in which the sharks live," Oregon State University researcher and study co-author Taylor Chapple said in a statement.
Why is California's Great White shark population rising?
A variety of factors may be contributing to the rise in the population of the predator, which can grow up to 20 feet long and live to be 70 years old. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as well as a reduction in gillnets off the coast of California, are assisting in the recovery, according to Chapple.