Great white shark with skin disease – or newborn?. The shark was observed by a drone camera in July 2023 in the waters off Southern California. It was around 1.5 meters long and completely white. Adults, on the other hand, are gray above and white below. However, it is also possible that the white layer comes from a skin disease, writes the team. The study does not address whether there is evidence of such layers in newborns in other shark species, says author Timo Moritz.