'Contender,' largest male great white shark ever recorded in Atlantic, reemerges off Canadian coast
If Contender follows the typical trend of sharks, we should see his next ping much further south, perhaps near where he was first tagged near the Florida
Top 'Contender': nonprofit OCEARCH tags largest great white shark on record in Atlantic
Contender, a 14-foot, 1,600 pound adult male great white shark was tagged by OCEARCH in January near the Florida/Georgia line. The nonproft works to research ocean life by tracking their locations throughout their lives.
POINTE-PARENT, Quebec – Contender, the largest male great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic, is on the move and was recently pinged off the coast of Canada.
OCEARCH, the company that tagged Contender, recorded his last ping on Sept. 29 south of Pointe-Parent in the province of Quebec.
Contender is nearly 14 feet long and is estimated to weigh 1,653 pounds, according to OCEARCH.
This makes him OCEARCH's largest recorded great white male shark in the Atlantic Ocean.
LARGEST MALE GREAT WHITE SHARK EVER RECORDED SPOTTED NEAR FAMOUS VACATION HOTSPOT
Watch: Atlantic Ocean's largest recorded male great white shark gets tagged for tracking
Video from OCEARCH shows Contender, a massive adult great white shark being tagged off the Florida/Georgia coast in January 2025. Contender is the largest recorded great white shark in the Atlantic.
First tagged off the Florida/Georgia coast in January, Contender has been moving north since.
His last location ping was in July off the coast of Massachusetts.
A month before that, he was recorded roughly 22 miles off the shores of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Contender the great white shark being tagged in the Atlantic Ocean in January 2025.
(OCEARCH / FOX Weather)
During the summer, white sharks like Contender will migrate north, seeking cooler waters and rich food sources in the Northwest Atlantic, according to OCEARCH.
Typically, as fall begins, the sharks begin migrating back south toward the Southeastern U.S. where the water is warmer.
"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," OCEARCH said.
If Contender follows the typical trend of other white sharks, we should see his next ping much further south, perhaps near where he was first tagged near the Florida/Georgia coastline.