Decision Time Draws Near for Baby Great White Shark Held off Malibu

The Monterey Bay Aquarium may soon be acquire a new little friend.

[A] baby great white shark caught Tuesday is possibly going to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for just such a pampering.

The shark is currently being kept in a mesh pen off Malibu's Paradise Cove, where marine biologists with the Aquarium will observe it and evaluate it for possible placement in the popular aquarium's Outer Bay exhibit.

The 4-foot-9-inch top feeder was accidentally caught by a commercial fisherman and put in the huge pen off Paradise Cove, where the marine biologists from the aquarium have been observing and tagging ... juvenile great whites for the past few years.

If the latest toothy find turns out to be a real catch, he or she could be taken to Monterey in a specially-designed rolling tank to be put on exhibit, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Since 2004, the aquarium has had three great whites in its Outer Bay exhibit... all have since been released. Great whites are never kept in captivity...

One shark released Feb. 5 after 162 days in captivity -- it also was corralled off Malibu -- had already traveled south of Baja California by March 20, according to electronic monitoring devices.