Perhaps the big fish is visiting for the upcoming 50th birthday of ‘Jaws,’ the upcoming July 4 holiday, or it is just plain migrating north.
Whatever the reason, the Atlantic Ocean’s largest tagged great white shark on record resurfaced off the coast of North Carolina, just off the Outer Banks near Cape Hatteras, this week, scientists said
At nearly 14 feet in length, “Contender,” a great white male shark is “making moves along the Atlantic coast, giving us more valuable data on the lives of white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic,” OCEARCH, a global non-profit marine research group tracking shark sightings and migration wrote on social media.
Great white shark ‘Contender’ was tagged by OCEARCH scientists offshore, near the Florida-Georgia line on Jan. 17, 2025.
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Massive great white shark pings in East Coast water
Researchers first tagged Contender in January off the Florida-Georgia coast, as previously reported by USA TODAY.
Since then, the shark has pinged several times including on Jan. 26 and Feb. 6.
A ping means the Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting tag attached to the fish’s dorsal fin was spotted above the surface for a brief period as it swam, transmitting a near-live location signal to the OCEARCH shark tracker.
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How much does the biggest great white tagged weigh?
According to OCEARCH’s shark tracker page, Contender weighs 1,653 pounds.
A great white shark swims close to the surface of the shark tagging vessel off Massachusetts.
How old is Contender, the great white shark?
Contender is an adult male shark believed to be just over 30 years old.
See live view of tagged sharks that are tracked:
The visit comes at the time of year when great white sharks start migrating north to warmer waters for a larger food supply, according to the non-profit
“Every ping helps us get one step closer to understanding and protecting these incredible animals,” it wrote on Facebook.
To track Contender and other sharks online, download the free OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker App, available on iOS, Android, and on desktop at ocearch.org
Contributing: USA TODAY’s Taylor Ardrey
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Massive great white shark resurfaces off coast of North Carolina
