Largest Great White Shark on Record Headed for Popular Tourist Spot
The largest great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean is headed for a new home, and it happens to be a tourist hotspot.
The 14-foot shark, known as Contender, was first tagged by OCEARCH Shark Tracker in January about 45 miles off the Florida-Georgia coast. But around the middle of May, Contender's signal disappeared for several weeks. On June 11, he resurfaced near North Carolina's Pamlico Sound, a popular enclave for summer tourists. Researchers believe that Contender's brief disappearance coincided with a critical feeding period in which Contender was building up reserves for its marathon journey to the north.
“This time of year, white sharks are starting their late spring/early summer migration (May 16 to June 30), moving from their southern overwintering area to their summer/fall foraging areas in the northeastern US and Atlantic Canada," said Harley Newton, OCEARCH’s chief scientist and veterinarian.
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“We often see the sharks on our global shark tracker spend a period of time off the Outer Banks right before they move north, which is what white shark Contender appears to be doing," Newton continued. “This may be due to rich food resources in the region and would serve as a time to feed and prepare before what may be a journey of 1,000 miles or more.”
OCEARCH is closely monitoring Contender's movements and activity in order to promote shark conservation and advance research around the species. Data from Contender and other tagged sharks help to protect the ocean's other inhabitants, as great white sharks are integral to regulating prey populations which face threats from overfishing, climate change, and habitat loss.