Largest great white shark ever recorded in Atlantic reveals new location after racing up US East Coast

The largest male great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic has suddenly appeared in Canadian waters after prowling the US East Coast. 

Nicknamed Contender, the predator measures a whopping 13 feet and nine inches in length and weighs nearly 1,700 pounds.

OCEARCH, a non-profit group focused on shark research and ocean conservation, recorded a ping from its tracker on Wednesday at 12.03pm ET, in the waters between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador, near the entrance to the Strait of Belle Isle.

Contender first surfaced near the eastern tip of Anticosti Island on August 15 before traveling northeast through the Gulf of St Lawrence and pinging again four days later near Quebec’s remote Lower North Shore. 

These pings come months after Contender’s tracker fell silent in late April while he was swimming near North Carolina.

The massive shark reappeared on July 10, but that brief signal failed to reveal his exact location.

The latest data now confirms that he traveled far north into the colder waters of eastern Canada after covering thousands of miles along the US coast.

OCEARCH stressed that gaps in the tracking data do not mean Contender disappeared, as his satellite tag can transmit only when his dorsal fin breaks the ocean’s surface.

Wednesday’s sighting was called a ‘Z-ping,’ meaning Contender spent only a few moments at the surface before diving back into the Atlantic.

That signal burst did not give Argos, the orbiting satellite system tracking tagged sharks, enough time to lock on to Contender and determine an exact location near the US.

Argos satellites can only pick up the pings from sharks when their entire fin comes out of the water and the signal is transmitted to space. With a longer signal, the satellites are able to show shark fans where each tagged creature is in real time.

So, for the time being, scientists only know that Contender is still alive and active somewhere near US beaches and possibly near a surprising new hunting ground for great whites in the North Atlantic.

A 2023 study found that the waters near Massachusetts may be fully revitalized and filled with great white sharks after years of inactivity.

The research, published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, estimated that 800 individual great white sharks visited the waters off Cape Cod between 2015 and 2018 alone.

Exactly one year ago, Contender was spotted in this area near the Massachusetts coast, where one of their main sources of food gathers – seals.

After that, the great white was seen traveling into Canadian waters last September, where it approached the Gulf of St Lawrence in Quebec – over 1,200 miles from its last known position near North Carolina this spring.

Contender’s arrival in Canadian waters was consistent with the species’ normal migration. 

Great whites typically travel north during summer to follow suitable water temperatures and prey, with Atlantic Canada serving as an important feeding ground through the fall.

A cluster of great white sharks has recently been spotted off a popular Maine beach, with witnesses reporting as many as nine predators swimming and feeding near shore.

The first confirmed sightings occurred August 4 near Pine Point Beach in Scarborough, just south of Portland.

Police said two juvenile great whites, estimated at six to eight feet long, were seen near Prouts Neck, the Scarborough River’s mouth and waters off the beach.

Officials later reported up to seven additional sharks near Pine Point Jetty. Photographer Karl Ramsdell, who captured the activity, said: ‘They were everywhere.’

Great whites naturally inhabit the Gulf of Maine, with sightings typically occurring from May through December and peaking between July and September.

However, seeing five to seven sharks concentrated in one small area over two days is considered uncommon.

Experts believe favorable summer temperatures and plentiful prey, including baitfish and harbor seals, attracted them.

No aggressive behavior toward swimmers, surfers or boaters was reported.

Officials urged visitors to remain close to shore, avoid swimming alone or near seals and baitfish, follow lifeguards’ instructions and immediately leave the water if a shark appears.

Maine has recorded two confirmed unprovoked shark attacks since 1837, including a fatal great white attack near Bailey Island in 2020.