Tagged 14-Foot Great White Shark Resurfaces Off North Carolina
The 1,653-pound great white shark known as “Continent” was detected near the Outer Banks, with tracking data indicating a northward migration toward Cape Cod and Canada.
Scientists from the marine-research nonprofit OCEARCH reported that the Atlantic Ocean's largest tagged great white shark resurfaced off North Carolina's Outer Banks on July 10. The shark, nicknamed “Contender,” measures nearly 14 feet in length and weighs about 1,653 pounds, according to the organization’s tracker.
OCEARCH said the shark was first tagged on Jan. 17, 2025, off the Florida-Georgia coast and has since pinged the surface several times, most recently just before 2 p.m. ET on July 10. A ping occurs when the Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting tag on the shark’s dorsal fin briefly breaks the surface, sending a near-real-time location signal to the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker.
"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 nonprofit wrote on its website.
The tracking data suggest the shark is moving northward toward Cape Cod and the eastern coast of Canada, a pattern consistent with the seasonal migration of great whites to cooler waters with richer food supplies. The OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app allows the public to follow Contender and other tagged marine animals in real time.