14-Foot Great White Contender Breaches Off North Carolina as 1,653-Pound Shark Heads North
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 15
14-Foot Great White Contender Breaches Off North Carolina as 1,653-Pound Shark Heads North
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 15
Summary
OCEARCH logged Contender near North Carolina’s Outer Banks on July 10, when the 14-foot great white briefly surfaced and transmitted a near-live location signal.
The ping suggests the shark is moving toward Cape Cod and eastern Canada, matching the seasonal northward migration of great whites seeking warmer waters and more food.
Contender was first tagged off the Florida-Georgia coast on Jan. 17, 2025, and had also pinged on April 14 and April 23 before the latest sighting.
At 1,653 pounds and just over 30 years old, Contender is the largest tagged great white recorded by OCEARCH, which tracks its movements through a dorsal-fin transmitter.