Largest shark ever tagged by research group swimming off the Florida coast
Researchers are tracking what is believed to be the largest shark ever tagged by OCEARCH in the southwest Atlantic, with its last pings off Florida’s east coast.
The white shark, named Contender, was originally tagged on Jan. 17, 2025, approximately 45 miles off the coast of the Florida-Georgia border and has generally traveled southward along the Gulf Stream.
According to biologists, the shark is nearly 14 feet long and weighed an impressive 1,652.8 pounds when researchers found it.
The shark’s tag will transmit real-time data to researchers, providing insights into his movements and behavior over the next several years.
“Contender’s name is in honor of Contender Boats, a longtime OCEARCH partner, whose industry-leading sport fishing and pleasure boats enable our research missions.
Their commitment to performance and innovation is essential to our ability to explore and protect our oceans,” the group stated.
Beachgoers do not need to cancel their vacations to the Sunshine State as the white shark has generally stayed more than 40 miles off the coast.
OCEARCH
According to biologists, sharks often migrate to the waters off of Florida and the Southeast during the fall and winter in search of prey.
During the spring and summer, the marine animals tend to travel further offshore and head northward towards the Northeast U.S. and Canada to feed on seals.
According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the population of white sharks around the world is thought to exceed 3,000 and is presently not considered to be endangered; however, climate change and entanglements have impacted the population.
OCEARCH said the tag on Contender needs to be exposed to the air for around 90 seconds, to triangulate the shark’s location accurately.
The battery is said to last around five years, but its lifespan is entirely dependent on how many times the shark surfaces.
As of late 2024, marine biologists had tagged nearly 400 sharks with most being either great white or tiger sharks.
