Tagged 14-Foot Great White Shark Reappears Off North Carolina
The Atlantic Ocean's largest tagged great white shark, known as "Continent," resurfaced near the Outer Banks and is moving toward Cape Cod and Canada, according to marine researchers.
A 14-foot, 1,653-pound great white shark identified as "Contender" surfaced off North Carolina's Outer Banks on July 10, researchers said. The shark, first tagged on Jan. 17, 2025 off the Florida-Georgia coast by the OCEARCH marine research group, has transmitted several location pings since April, indicating a northward migration toward Cape Cod and the eastern Canadian coast.
OCEARCH noted that the animal, an adult male estimated to be about 30 years old, is the largest great white shark ever tagged with its Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting (SPOT) tag. The tag relays near-real-time location data when the shark breaches the surface.
"Contender’s name is in honor of Contender Boats, a longtime OCEARCH partner, whose industry-leading sport fishing and pleasure boats enable our research missions," the organization wrote on its website.
The organization encourages the public to follow the shark’s movements via the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app, available for iOS, Android, and desktop platforms.