Marine researchers from OCEARCH have recently tagged their largest male great white shark yet, Contender, off the Florida-Georgia border. According to OCEARCH, Contender Measures nearly 14 feet in length and weighs approximately 1,653 pounds.
Researchers found and tagged Contender on January 17, 2025, in the western North Atlantic, about 45 miles off the coast near the Florida-Georgia line. Since then, Contender has been tracked moving southward along the Gulf Stream, with the most recent signals placing him off Florida’s east coast near Jacksonville on February 6th.
The shark is equipped with a SPOT tag that transmits real-time data, allowing researchers to monitor his movements and gather insights into his migration patterns over the next several years. OCEARCH anticipates that the tag’s battery will last approximately five years, depending on how frequently the shark surfaces.
Contender was named in honor Contender Boats, a long-time partner of OCEARCH. The company’s sport fishing and pleasure boats have been instrumental in supporting OCEARCH’s research missions. But obviously, the name fits well given Contender’s size.
According to biologists, great white sharks often migrate to the waters off Florida and the Southeast during the fall and winter months in search of prey. In the spring and summer, they tend to travel further offshore and head northward towards the Northeast U.S. and Canada to feed on seals.
The global population of white sharks is estimated to exceed 3,000 individuals and is not currently considered endangered. However, factors such as climate change and entanglements have impacted their numbers. As of late 2024, marine biologists had tagged nearly 400 sharks, most of which are either great white or tiger sharks.
For those interested in following Contender’s journey, OCEARCH provides a shark tracker on their website, allowing the public to monitor the movements of tagged sharks in real-time.
