Great white sharks live in cool to warm oceans all around the world, especially in temperate coastal waters rather than tropical coral-reef zones. They are most common near coasts where large seals and sea lions live, which are their favorite prey.

Main home regions

  • Coastal waters of South Africa , particularly around the Western Cape and nearby islands.
  • Southern Australia and New Zealand , including offshore islands used as feeding hotspots.
  • The northeastern Pacific : from California and Baja California (Mexico) out toward the “white shark café” in the open Pacific.
  • The North Atlantic , from the waters off New England and eastern Canada down toward the U.S. East Coast and into the Gulf of Mexico.

What their habitat is like

  • They prefer temperate and subtropical seas, usually where water is roughly 10–26 °C (about 50–80 °F).
  • Great whites move between shallow coastal zones (where seals, sea lions, and fish are abundant) and deeper offshore waters during long migrations.
  • Some areas act as nursery zones for young sharks, such as near‑shore waters off southern California and near Long Island, New York.

How far they travel

  • Great whites are highly migratory and can cross entire ocean basins, moving seasonally to follow water temperatures and prey.
  • In the northeastern Pacific, individuals travel between the U.S./Mexico coasts, Guadalupe Island, offshore “café” areas, and sometimes the Hawaiian Archipelago.
  • These long trips suggest they use different regions for feeding, breeding, and possibly social interactions over the course of a year.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.