Scientists reveal biggest great white shark ever recorded in Atlantic has resurfaced in major US tourist hotspot
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: OCEARCH/SWNS
The biggest great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic has popped up once more - and this time, he is in a major tourist area.
I can hear the Jaws theme already. Meet Contender, a great white shark who comes in at a whopping 14ft and weighs 1,653lbs, with scientists estimating his age to be around 30 years old.
He was tagged in the North Atlantic by OCEARCH in January - a non-profit organization that conducts research on large marine animals in an attempt to manage marine ecosystems and inform conservation to help protect critical habitats.
However, Contender went off the radar for nearly a month, so his location is more or less a mystery until then.
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But on June 7, the shark has since made his grand return, and he has certainly got about in recent months.
In January, scientists found Contender swimming around the Florida-Georgia coastline, around 45 miles from Jacksonville.
Subsequent pings also found him near the John F. Kennedy Space Centre, so who knows what he was up to there?
However, he has since done a massive U-turn and headed up north to Pamlico Sound in North Carolina.
As for why he made the change, its suggested that it was to do with finding new food sources, which is the primary reason for sharks migrating around the ocean.
Dr. Harley Newton, OCEARCH's chief scientist and veterinarian based in Florida, said: "This time of year white sharks are starting their late spring/early summer migration (16 May to 30 June) moving from their southern overwintering area to their summer/fall foraging areas in the northeastern US and Atlantic Canada.
"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.
"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."
Well, the team collect biological samples and attach a SPOT satellite tag to his dorsal fin, while the tag transmits real-time GPS data whenever he surfaces above the water's surface.
This then enables researchers and the public to track the shark's his movements live via OCEARCH's global shark tracker, and there's some creative sharks out there if this GPS tracker is anything to go by.
While Contender's size makes him an absolute unit, he's not the biggest beast out there - at least when it comes to female sharks.
That's right, it's the ladies that bring in the heat when it comes to their size, with the average female white shark growing up to 15-16ft in comparison to males, who typically reach 11-13 ft when they reach maturity, according to Ocean.
And then there's the big mother that is Deep Blue, who is estimated to be 20ft and weighing about 2,000kg.