A colossal, 1,600-pound great white shark, the largest male tagged by OCEARCH, has surfaced off Florida’s East Coast.
The 13-foot, 9-inch shark, nicknamed Contender by the OCEARCH scientists who recently tagged it, pinged southeast of Jacksonville Beach twice on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 11:35 a.m. and 12:37 p.m.
When the satellite tag affixed to the animal’s dorsal fin moves above the water’s surface, a ping with location information is sent to trackers.
Contender was tagged off the Florida-Georgia coast on Jan. 17.
“Contender is the largest male white shark the OCEARCH team has sampled, tagged, released and studied to date in the NW Atlantic white shark population! So he’s pretty special,” OCEARCH Chief Marketing Officer Nicole Ralson said in an email.
After being tagged, the shark traveled north and pinged several times off Savannah, Georgia on Jan. 21 before heading south again, its tracker shows.
Contender’s first Florida pings came on Jan. 26, when the shark pinged three times off Fernandina Beach coast. Since then, the shark has pinged twelve times zig-zagging between Amelia Island and Jacksonville.
North Atlantic great white sharks leave their summer feeding grounds off Atlantic Canada and New England and travel along the East Coast, as far south as Florida and the Gulf, in search of warmer waters and more food sources.
What to know about OCEARCH great white shark Contender
Contender, an adult male white shark, was tagged by OCEARCH off the Georgia-Florida coast on Jan. 17.
“Meet Contender, the ultimate ocean warrior! This powerful white shark was tagged on January 17, 2025, off the FL/GA coast, about 45 miles offshore,” the shark’s tracker page reads.
“Contender is a mature male now contributing to OCEARCH’s mission of shark research and ocean conservation.”
Contender measured 13 feet, 9 inches and weighed in at 1,653 pounds at the time, making him the largest male white shark tagged by OCEARCH.
According to its tracker, the shark has traveled 160 miles since being tagged.
Contender was reportedly named for Contender Boats, a longtime OCEARCH partner.
Are there great white sharks in Florida?
Yes. Great white sharks migrate south when the water gets cold and food sources become scarce off the coasts of Atlantic Canada and the area around Cape Cod, New England, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.
According to OCEARCH, during the warmer months, these apex predators take advantage of the abundant seal populations and rich prey resources found in these areas.
As temperatures drop and food sources dwindle, white sharks are triggered by a combination of decreasing water temperatures and changes in daylight hours, prompting their southward migration.
Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.
Most of them tend to stay away from the beaches in continental shelf waters, Hueter said.
Where are great white sharks found in Florida?
Great white sharks are found in every ocean, though they stay away from the colder waters of Antarctica and the Arctica. They can be found around Florida’s coast, from the state’s east coast to the Gulf.
How many great white sharks are there?
There’s no absolute data on the global population of white sharks and estimates vary widely – from 3,000 to over 10,000.
According to NOAA Fisheries:
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The stock status for white shark populations in U.S. waters is unknown and no stock assessments have been completed. No stock assessments are currently planned in the Atlantic.
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Research by NOAA Fisheries scientists indicates that abundance trends have been increasing in the northwest Atlantic since regulations protecting them were first implemented in the 1990s.
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According to a NOAA Fisheries status review and recent research, the northeastern Pacific white shark population appears to be increasing and is not at risk of becoming endangered in U.S. waters.
What do great white sharks eat?
According to NOAA Fisheries, white sharks have a diverse and opportunistic diet of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals.
Juvenile white sharks mainly eat bottom fish, smaller sharks and rays, and schooling fish and squids.
Larger white sharks often gather around seal and sea lion colonies to feed and also occasionally scavenge dead whales.
Facts about great white sharks
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Weight: Up to 4,500 pounds
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Length: About 4 feet (at birth) and up to 21 feet (adult)
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Lifespan: 70 years or more
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Threats: Bycatch, Habitat Impacts, Overfishing. According to NOAA Fisheries, the white shark is a prohibited species (no retention allowed) in all U.S. waters and fisheries. There are no commercial fisheries for white sharks, but they are occasionally caught as bycatch.
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Region: Alaska, New England/Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Islands, Southeast, West Coast
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Teeth: Great white sharks have 300 teeth but don’t chew their food. Instead, they rip it into pieces and swallow it whole. The sharks have an endless supply of teeth, with lost teeth regenerating infinitely.
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Sight: Great white sharks can see well in low light, enabling them to hunt at dawn, dusk, or in deep waters, OCEARCH reported.
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Additionally, white sharks can detect weak electrical signals emitted by living creatures, even under sand. They also identify vibration changes in the water, allowing them to find prey by sensing movement.
Great white sharks in Florida on OCEARCH shark tracker
North Atlantic great white sharks migrate as far south as Florida and the Gulf in winter, searching for warmer waters and more food sources.
OCEARCH has tagged 125 white sharks, many of them along the Eastern Seaboard and Nova Scotia.
You can follow their journeys on the OCEARCH shark tracker website or by downloading the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Great white shark, largest male tagged by OCEARCH, pings off Florida
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