It is unclear how much a concurrent increase in fishing for great white sharks had to do with the decline of great white shark population from the 1970s to the present. No accurate numbers on population are available, but populations have clearly declined to a point at which the great white shark is now considered endangered. Their reproduction is slow, with sexual maturity occurring at about 12󈝻 years of age, the population, therefore, can take a long time to rise.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (C.I.T.E.S.) has put the great white shark on its ''Appendix II'' list of endangered species.[41] The shark is targeted by fishermen for its jaws, teeth, and fins, and as a game fish. The great white shark, however, is rarely an object of commercial fishing, although its flesh is considered valuable. If casually captured (it happens for example in some tonnare in the Mediterranean), it is sold as smooth-hound shark. From April 2007 great white sharks were fully protected within 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) of New Zealand and additionally from fishing by New Zealand-flagged boats outside this range. The maximum penalty for targeting white pointers is a $250,000 fine and up to six months in prison.

Information taken from Wikipedia