Sandy the 'JAWS' shark who lived in a San Francisco aquarium for five days

On August 19, 1980, Tomales Bay fisherman Al Wilson discovered a great white shark feasting on his net of starry flounder. He knew just what to do: gently squeeze its gills and tap its head to keep it alive as he slowly brought it to shore.

Wilson then contacted the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco.

This catch marked the beginning of an extraordinary week in Bay Area ichthyology. Through meticulous preparation, deep scientific knowledge, marketing prowess, and a stroke of luck, the California Academy of Sciences managed to keep the first great white shark in captivity at their aquarium for five days.

The Chronicle reported, “A great white shark was caught in Bodega Bay yesterday by a fisherman whose swift attention to the seven-foot fish’s delicate life system may make it the first to survive in captivity at the Steinhart Aquarium in Golden Gate Park.”

The public exhibition of the shark occurred during a period of heightened interest in sharks, fueled by the 1975 movie "Jaws." It made the Chronicle’s front page for days and broke museum admission records. While Wilson captured the shark, the driving force behind its display was the adventurous aquarium director, John McCosker. His fascination with great white sharks began in 1973, predating both Peter Benchley’s novel and Steven Spielberg’s film. McCosker, a dynamic scientist frequently appearing on local TV shows, believed that the aquarium’s new circular tank could support a great white’s need for continuous movement, ensuring a constant flow of oxygen over its gills.

Wilson, whose manner of speaking was reminiscent of Robert Shaw’s character Quint from “Jaws,” had previously attempted to capture a 1,500-pound great white earlier that year. “Ate a hole in my boat and was coming after me,” he recounted to the Chronicle. When he caught a 7-foot, 300-pound shark, he named it “Sandy” and focused immediately on its survival.

Aug. 22, 1980: Sandy the great white shark swims in circles in the fish roundabout exhibit at Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco (Clem Albers/The Chronicle)

“It just so happens I know how to nursemaid a shark to shore,” Wilson said, explaining his techniques. “It’s a lot easier to kill them than to spend hours and hours keeping them alive.”

Wilson’s first call was to SeaWorld in San Diego, which was reportedly offering $7,000 for a live great white. When there was no answer at 6 a.m., he contacted Steinhart, which was offering a smaller reward: $500 for the first two days and $100 per day thereafter, up to a maximum of $5,000.

A biologist answered right away. The aquarium, having previously failed with an ailing great white that died within a day, was prepared with a truck, tank, and canvas sling. A winch was used to lift Sandy three stories into the aquarium’s circular tank, where visitors could observe the shark swimming laps.

The exhibit opened the next day, drawing thousands of visitors who stood in long lines, some waiting over three hours to catch a glimpse of the shark. More than 40,000 people visited Sandy in three days. However, the shark, accustomed to the dim light 60 feet below the ocean’s surface, was distressed by the bright tank and the lights-off period. Sandy refused to eat, needed assistance from divers to keep moving, and developed other issues.

“We had an electronics expert come out, and we discovered there were these tiny mini-volts at one point in the tank,” McCosker told the Chronicle. “Whenever the shark reached that spot, she turned or sank to the bottom, and we had to have someone in there to keep her moving.”

Before 1980, any great white sharks brought to aquariums alive had died in captivity. By the end of day four, McCosker decided it was best to return the shark to the ocean. “If she’s going to survive, it will have to be in the ocean,” he said.

Biologist Ed Miller donned a wetsuit and guided the shark back into the stretcher. Chronicle photographer Clem Albers documented Sandy’s journey back into the truck, and a 43-foot charter boat transported her from Sausalito to the Farallon Islands, where she was released into the Pacific. The shark was tagged and survived at least another year in the wild. McCosker went on to write papers about Sandy and co-author a book on great white sharks. The practice of returning sharks to the ocean after brief stints in captivity became a new standard among scientific institutions.

For years, no shark lasted longer than a few days in captivity. The breakthrough came with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which kept great white sharks in 2004, 2006, and 2007 for 198, 137, and 152 days, respectively, in a million-gallon tank. All were eventually released back into the ocean.

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