Researchers are saying the population of the great white shark is booming, and they conclude that’s a good thing, even though your dusty DVD of "Jaws" might suggest otherwise.

Chris Fischer, who has been studying and tagging great whites for the past decade and is founder of the research organization Ocearch, said he has observed an increasing number of the species.

"We're seeing an ocean that's teeming with life like we haven't seen since the '40s or '50s," Fischer told CBS News in an online story published on Thursday.

And that’s huge, said Dr. Bryan Franks of Jacksonville University in Florida and a member of the Ocearch team.

"I think what we are starting to see is what the oceans looked like 100 years ago, 150 years ago," Franks told WPTV of West Palm Beach, Fla., "and I think that's a good thing because a healthier shark population reflects a healthier ocean."

So maybe healthy enuff to feed the apex predators, may be healthy enuff to feed the salmon...