Until recently only a few benthic species of shark, such as hornsharks, leopard sharks and catsharks had survived in aquarium conditions for up to a year or more. This gave rise to the belief that sharks, as well as being difficult to capture and transport, were difficult to care for. A better knowledge of sharks has led to more species (including the large pelagic sharks) being able to be kept for far longer. At the same time, transportation techniques have improved and long distance movement of sharks is becoming easier.[54] One shark that never had been successfully held in captivity for long was the great white. But in September 2004 the Monterey Bay Aquarium successfully kept a young female great white shark for 198 days before releasing her back into the wild.

Most species of shark are not suitable for domestic aquaria and not every species of shark sold by pet stores make good inhabitants for personal aquaria. Some species of sharks can also be kept well in home saltwater aquaria.[55] Uninformed or unscrupulous dealers sometimes sell juvenile sharks like the nurse shark, which upon reaching adulthood will have far outgrown typical home aquaria.[55] Public aquaria are generally not interested in accepting donated specimens that have overgrown their housing and some shark owners have been tempted to release them into the wild.[55] Species appropriate to home aquaria represent considerable spatial and financial investments as they generally approach adult lengths of 3 feet and can live up to 25 years.[55]

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