Oct. 7, 2004 — A great white shark lunged into her fourth week of captivity Wednesday and has set the world record for the longest time that any great white has survived outside of the wild.

As of Thursday, the great white has lived 23 days in its enormous, million-gallon tank, which breaks the previous record of 16 days. That was set in August 1981, by a great white housed at SeaWorld in San Diego. The prior record-holder refused to eat food provided by humans and was released back to its ocean home.

The current record-holder, a female described by its keeper as "unstressed," resides at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. A few weeks ago, it set another world's record by becoming the first great white shark ever to have eaten food offered by a human.

Randy Kochevar, science communications manager at the aquarium, told Discovery News that the shark ate four pounds of salmon Tuesday, and probably has eaten more since.

"In addition to the salmon, she has consumed mackerel and at least one sardine," he said. "All of the fish are restaurant grade. The only difference is that we supplement the fish with vitamins, as the shark likely would have a more varied diet in the wild."

One of the biggest surprises at the aquarium has been the shark's feeding style. The aquarium houses other shark species. Most are fed shish kabob-style fish skewered onto poles.

"The other sharks tend to gently pluck their meals off of the poles, but the great white lunges at her food when she is about two feet away from it, as though she were attacking prey," he said.

As a result, the aquarium's staff has designed a special pole to protect both the human feeders and the shark, which might eat part of the pole along with the skewered fish.

It is unclear whether the shark has gained any weight from its gourmet diet because the aquarium's staff is trying to avoid handling it unnecessarily. Some initial cuts and scrapes that the shark sustained after it was accidentally caught in a commercial halibut gillnet off the coast of Huntington Beach in Southern California have healed.

Kochevar credits its survival, in part, to the great white's young age at capture — four to five months — and its stay in a "halfway house" ocean pen for three weeks before it was moved to her current residence, the Outer Bay Exhibit tank.

This enclosure also is home to giant Pacific bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, California barracuda, Pacific bonito, ocean sunfish, black sea turtles, pelagic stingrays, scalloped hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks and soupfin sharks.

"The sea turtles are oblivious to her, but all of the other animals in the exhibit appear to be very aware of her presence," Kochevar said. "Sometimes the other sharks accidentally bump into her and it's as though they say 'woops, woops,' before they swim away."

So far, the great white has not taken a bite out of any of its tank mates. Even if peace prevails and it continues to survive and thrive, it might outgrow the exhibit and have to be returned back to her Southern California ocean home.

Female great whites are larger than males. The captive shark at present is about four feet, four inches long. It could grow an additional 18 feet or more.

Despite the human and natural perils found in the wild, David Phillips, director of the International Marine Mammal Project at the Earth Island Institute in San Francisco, told Discovery News that his organization does not support the housing of great white sharks in aquariums. The Pelagic Shark Foundation also has expressed concerns due to the risks posed by captivity.

Both organizations instead favor the expansion of research on great white sharks in the wild.

For now, however, the Monterey Bay Aquarium's great white continues to thrill visitors and staff.

"She is such a wonderful animal," Kochevar said. "We hope to have her around for a very long time."