Shark Research Committee - Home About the Shark Research Committee Pacific Coast Shark News Conservation Education Sharks of the Pacific Coast White Shark Biosketch Distribution and Diet of Pacific Coast White Sharks Predatory Behavior of Pacific Coast White Sharks SharkHuman Interactions Along the Pacific Coast Pacific Coast Shark Attack Statistics Fatal Pacific Coast Shark Attacks 1900 Present Shark Attacks Along the Pacific Coast 2000 Shark Attacks Along the Pacific Coast 1990s Case Histories of Unprovoked White Shark Attacks Divers Kayakers Surfers Swimmers White Shark Interactions with Inanimate Objects Publications Shark Encounters White Shark Encounters Along the Pacific Coast Soupfin Shark Encounter Reporting Forms Shark Attack Shark Encounter Shark Predation Shark Web Sites Recommended Links Newsletter About the Shark Research Committee Founded in 1963 as a 501 c 3 taxexempt nonprofit scientific research organization the Shark Research Committees primary goal was to assist Leonard P. Schultz of the Smithsonian Institution and the Office of Naval Research in documenting shark attacks from the Pacific Coast of North America. This primary objective was later broadened to include shark conservation in addition to conducting research on the general biology behavior and ecology of the sharks indigenous to waters off the Pacific Coast with particular emphasis on potentially dangerous species. Early in this research it was determined that the White SharkCarcharodon carcharias was the species indicted for the majority ofshark attacks recorded along the Pacific Coast of North America.