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Massive 14-foot 1,600-pound great white shark emerges in water off Massachusetts<\/p>\n
The Atlantic Ocean\u2019s largest tagged great white shark on record recently emerged near a popular Massachusetts summer destination.<\/p>\n
\u201cContender,\u201d a 14-foot, 1,600-pound shark, pinged off Nantucket on both July 17 and 18, according to a live tracking tool powered by OCEARCH<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scientists estimate Contender is about 32 years old, Fox News reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n OCEARCH, a nonprofit marine research organization that monitors shark movements globally, says Contender was first tagged on January 17, 2025, near the Florida-Georgia coast.<\/p>\n \u201cThe SPOT tag deployed on Contender will provide valuable real-time data for approximately five years, helping us track his movements and understand his migration patterns,\u201d a post on OCEARCH\u2019s website states. \u201cAdditionally, we\u2019ve collected important biological samples, including urogenital material, which are currently being analyzed.\u201d<\/p>\n Contender pinged near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in early June before making the trek north to New England over the last handful of weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cThis apex predator is making moves along the Atlantic coast, giving us more valuable data on the lives of white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic,\u201d OCEARCH wrote in an Instagram post on June 10. \u201cEvery ping helps us get one step closer to understanding and protecting these incredible animals.\u201d<\/p>\n OCEARCH says a ping occurs when the tracking device on a tagged shark breaks the surface of the water. These tags, attached to the animal\u2019s dorsal fin, send a signal via satellite when the fin emerges, allowing researchers to track the animal\u2019s movements.<\/p>\n Contender\u2019s visit to New England waters comes just days after the Vineyard celebrated the 50th anniversary of the hit film \u201cJaws.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Boston 25 News Morning News anchor Gene Lavanchy and Doug \u201cVB\u201d Goudie discussed Contender in their latest edition of \u201cA-Z with VB.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf he wanted to get true publicity, he should have been off the coast of the Vineyard,\u201d Lavanchy joked of Contender.<\/p>\n However, Contender isn\u2019t the only great white shark lurking off New England these days.<\/p>\n The Chatham-based Atlantic White Shark Conservancy also tracks great whites in the area. There have been a slew of confirmed sightings off Cape Cod, the Islands, and the North Shore this summer.<\/p>\n The conservancy shared this interactive map with Boston 25, showing reported shark sightings in real-time and sightings with photos, as well as confirmed acoustic detections of tagged sharks.<\/p>\n The map\u2019s menu tools allow users to filter shark sightings as recent as 48 hours, over the last 30 days, or between a custom date range.<\/p>\n The icons on the map indicate the following:<\/p>\n Red alert icon: A white shark sighting is confirmed close to a public beach<\/p>\n Blue shark fin icon: A confirmed white shark sighting<\/p>\n Orange shark fin icon: An unconfirmed white shark sighting<\/p>\n Yellow icon: A receiver that detects white sharks tagged with acoustic tags and transmits the data in real-time<\/p>\n Purple icon: A real-time detection of a shark tagged with an acoustic tag that is less than an hour old<\/p>\n Orange icon: Detections of sharks tagged with acoustic transmitters<\/p>\n Green icon: The shark\u2019s dorsal fin breaks the surface and the tag transmits to overhead satellites<\/p>\n The Sharktivity app<\/a>, which is available to download on iPhone and Android, tracks sightings fed by researchers, safety officials, and users who upload photos for confirmation.<\/p>\n Download the FREE Boston 25 News app<\/a> for breaking news alerts.<\/p>\n Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW<\/a><\/p>\n