The largest male white shark ever caught, tagged and released is approaching Florida’s east coast, near Jacksonville.
Contender, a 13.8-foot, 1,653 pound adult shark, was tagged on Jan. 17 in the western Northwest Atlantic, off the Florida-Georgia border.
He appears to be moving south, most recently surfacing near St. Augustine at about 10 a.m. Thursday., according to OCEARCH, the research group that tagged Contender.
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In a Facebook post, the group said Contender will provide valuable real-time data for about five years.
OCEARCH told affilliate FOX 13 Tampa Bay that the tag on Contender needs to be exposed to the air for around 90 seconds, to triangulate the shark’s location accurately.
Researchers will track the shark’s movements to understand its migration patterns.
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At the time of tagging, the group also collected “important” biological samples from Contender, including urogenital material, which are currently being analyzed, according to the post.
Contender’s name is in honor of the Contender Boats company, which partners with OCEARCH.
“Their commitment to performance and innovation is essential to our ability to explore and protect our oceans,” according to the OCEARCH website.
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Great white sharks often leave their summer feeding grounds to enjoy warmer waters and more abundant food sources.
Marine biologists tagged nearly 400 sharks, mostly great white or tiger sharks, as of late 2024, Fox 13 reported.
FOX 13 Tampa Bay’s Aurielle Eady and Fox Weather contributed to this story.
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