The biggest male great white shark in Atlantic Ocean history, going by the name of ‘Contender,’ is moving through the waters and has been pinged off the Canadian coast.
OCEARCH, the entity who tagged the shark, recorded Contender’s last ping Sept. 29 near Pointe-Parent in Quebec.
According to OCEARCH, the great white is around 14 feet long and 1,653 pounds, which makes Contender the largest male great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean by the company. (RELATED: ‘Inspired By Actual Events’ Movie Blending World War II History, Gargantuan Shark Looks Like Absolute Smash Hit)
Originally tagged in January off the coast of Florida and Georgia, the shark has been headed north since. He was last pinged off the Massachusetts coast in July.
One month prior in June, OCEARCH recorded Contender around 22 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Male white shark Contender was caught, tagged, released, and is now being studied by OCEARCH. He is the largest male white shark tagged by OCEARCH in the NW Atlantic study. He is currently pinging in off the coast of FL! #ocearch #factsoverfear #ilovesharks pic.twitter.com/NTZ1vdBcTM
— OCEARCH (@OCEARCH) February 14, 2025
In the summer, great white sharks migrate north in search for cooler water temperatures and plentiful food sources that are present in the Northwest Atlantic, per OCEARCH.
Normally, as autumn starts, great whites begin a migration back south around the Southeastern United States coast for warmer waters.
“The sharks’ incredible ability to travel long distances allows them to navigate vast ocean spaces efficiently, moving between productive feeding grounds and warmer winter refuges,” said OCEARCH.
If Contender goes along with the usual trend of other great white sharks, his next ping should be a lot further southward, and he could possibly be pinged where he was originally tagged around the coastline of Florida and Georgia.
