White sharks are listed for protection under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the Convention for Migratory Species (CMS). The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN, Category VU A1cd+2cd) recognized white sharks as particularly vulnerable due to rapid stock declines. The lack of basic information about this species, including population dynamics, is arguably one of the biggest obstacles with regard to its conservation management.

The first real and substantive research on the Great White Sharks only started in South Africa in 1998, after the South African government decided to keep the species closed to commercial fishing. All legitimate research in South Africa is done by the Department of Environmental Affairs: Branch - Oceans and Coasts, Republic of South Africa, one of the leaders in Great White Shark research worldwide. They are all under the guidance of the top predator team of the Department of Environmental Affairs, led by Dr. Herman Oosthuizen and Michael Meÿer.

Shark Diving Unlimited has been wholly supporting all the legitimate research in South Africa authorized by the Department of Environmental Affairs since 1998.