Latest news with #greatwhiteshark
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Science
- News.com.au
‘Beast': World's biggest great white swims towards hotspot
The biggest great white shark ever recorded by researchers in the Atlantic is on the move – towards a popular US vacation hotspot. Contender, the 4.3-metre beast, was tagged in the North Atlantic by OCEARCH in January – a non-profit organization that conducts research on large marine animals – 72km off the Florida-Georgia coast, off Jacksonville. And after going off the radar for nearly a month – the tracker only transmits locating signal when the shark's dorsal fin is briefly exposed above the water's surface – last week it surfaced north, off Pamlico Sound in North Carolina. The beast appears to have made a dart for the north over the last few weeks. Measuring around 750kg, Contender is estimated to be around 30 years old. This stopover is believed to be a critical feeding period, allowing him to build energy reserves, for what may be a journey of 1,609km or more. Dr Harley Newton, OCEARCH's chief scientist and veterinarian, from Ponte Vedra, Florida, explained the behaviour of the mammoth creatures. She said: 'This time of year white sharks are starting their late spring/early summer migration (May 16 to June 30) moving from their southern overwintering area to their summer/fall foraging areas in the northeastern US and Atlantic Canada.' The tagging involved carefully capturing Contender alongside the research vessel, collecting biological samples, and attaching a SPOT satellite tag to his dorsal fin. This tag transmits real-time GPS data whenever he surfaces, enabling researchers and the public to track his movements live via OCEARCH's global shark tracker. Dr Newton said: 'We often see the sharks on our global shark tracker spend a period of time off the Outer Banks right before they move north, which is what white shark Contender appears to be doing.' 'This may be due to rich food resources in the region and would serve as a time to feed and prepare before what may be a journey of 1,000 miles or more.' Contender's migration is closely monitored to advance scientific research and promote shark conservation. Great white sharks play a vital role in marine ecosystems by regulating prey populations but face threats from overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Data from Contender and other tagged sharks inform conservation efforts and help protect critical habitats.
National Post
2 days ago
- Science
- National Post
More great whites are visiting N.S. beaches. Is it time for a shark warning system like Cape Cod's?
Amid signs that the North Atlantic's great white shark population is growing, popular Cape Cod beaches are using technology to warn swimmers and surfers when it's time to get out of the water. Article content And while Nova Scotia is only 265 nautical miles away from Boston, as the shark swims, beachgoers in Canada's ocean playground have no such protections. Article content Article content 'We are able to detect tagged sharks — sharks that are carrying acoustic transmitters — and those transmitters are emitting a very high frequency sound that's detected by an array of acoustic receivers that we have set up around some of the more popular swimming beaches,' said Greg Skomal, a senior fisheries biologist with the Massachusetts division of marine fisheries and director of the state's shark research program. Article content Article content 'Any time one of those tagged sharks is detected by one of those receivers, it issues a notification through cell phone to the respective public safety officials for that beach.' Article content Article content Lifeguards get immediate warnings about the shark's nearby presence, he said. They could then put up flags, close the beach for an hour, or use other methods to pull people out of the water, Skomal said, noting anyone using Cape Cod's beaches can get the same white shark warnings sent straight to their phone through the free app called sharktivity. Article content 'We think it's a great warning system, but more so, really, an educational system for the public safety officials because we have to fully acknowledge that not all the sharks are tagged,' Skomal said in an interview from Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands, where he has been tagging sharks in recent weeks. Article content 'We don't want people to have this false sense of security if they're not getting a notification.' Article content Cape Cod — where scientists see a high density of white sharks — has seen three incidents of sharks biting humans since 2012, one of which was fatal in September 2018. Article content Article content 'We've (also) had a couple of incidents where a paddle board or a kayak was bitten, but the individual was not,' Skomal said. Article content Article content Nova Scotia saw a white shark bite a young woman who jumped off a boat near Cape Breton's Margaree Island in August of 2021. A duck hunter also lost his dog to a shark bite off Port Medway in 2023. Article content 'Nova Scotia is interesting; it has lots of white sharks visiting,' said Skomal, who has tagged sharks in waters around the province. Article content 'We just published a paper that shows the increase in the number of white sharks visiting Nova Scotia and Canada over the last ten years,' he said. 'It's at least a two-fold increase.' Article content Scientists believe the white shark population is rebounding due to conservation measures that reduced the number of them killed as bycatch in other fisheries, and an abundance of grey seals — their favourite prey — now that people no longer hunt them.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Largest ever great white shark swims towards popular US beach resort
The largest great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean has ominously surfaced miles from a popular tourist spot near North Carolina. After a brief disappearance, the shark known as Contender was tracked near the Pamlico Sound, a well-visited spot for summer beach goers. Contender, an almost 14-foot shark, was first tagged in January around 45 miles from the Florida-Georgia coast before he disappeared in May for several weeks. OCEARCH, that tagged and tracked Contender, is a nonprofit organization that collects data on large marine animals across the US and Canada. Contender's signal remained dormant until June 7, at which point he resurfaced near the Pamlico Sound - one of the biggest attractions on the Outer Banks. The Pamlico is the largest sound, or saltwater lagoon, on the East Coast and attracts thousands of tourists with its renowned reputation for water sports and quiet sandy beaches. Contender's SPOT tag, or satellite transmitting tags designed to track marine life, will track his movements for around five years to help researchers further understand migration patterns. A shark's tag pings a transmission once their dorsal fin breaks the waters surface. Researchers believe his time missing in action was during a critical feeding period in which he stocked up on energy supplies for his journey north, The Sacramento Bee reported. 'This time of year, white sharks are starting their late spring/early summer migration [May 16 to June 30], moving from their southern overwintering area to their summer/fall foraging areas in the northeastern US and Atlantic Canada,' OCEARCH's chief scientist and veterinarian Harley Newton told the outlet. 'We often see the sharks on our global shark tracker spend a period of time off the Outer Banks right before they move north, which is what white shark Contender appears to be doing,' Newton added. 'This may be due to rich food resources in the region and would serve as a time to feed and prepare before what nay be a journey of 1,000 miles or more.' The shark, believed to be almost 30 years old and weighing in at over 1650 pounds, was tracked to have come closest to the shoreline near Mosquito Lagoon in Florida. OCEARCH said that they chose the record-breaking shark's name after Contender Boats, a boat manufacturing company that builds semi-custom sportfishing boats. The company has partnered with OCEARCH by providing the vessel for their extensive missions. Upon Contenders original tagging in January, shocking photos showed the massive shark lined up alongside the boats. The average size for a male great white shark is around 12 to 13 feet and a female averages at 15 to 16 feet long. Shark enthusiasts were floored to see Contender's massive size, with many expressing their shock in the comments of a video shared by the research team on Instagram. 'So cool!! I need to look him up and see where he goes,' one comment read. 'Contender is the Man, I mean, Great White! What a beaut. Hope he avoids props, orcas and any other danger that can put this unique specimen down. Looking forward to following his travels. Ocearch, you people rock!!!' another comment added. 'He is so handsome! What a beautiful fishy!!! Thanks for studying them and protect them!! Sharks are awesome,' a third shared. Over 142 days, the huge great white traveled a total of 1,870 miles.
