The latest location pings from Contender, the largest adult male white shark tagged in the Atlantic, are helping scientists to understand possible reasons for shark migration patterns.
OCEARCH tagged Contender in January 2025 off the Florida/Georgia coast.
Since then, his location has been marked by satellite pings as he moves and migrates during the year.
On Wednesday, April 1, Contender was pinged past the Gulf Stream deep off the coast of Georgia.
OCEARCH scientists said his recent movements from near the coast of Florida to rapidly moving out into deeper waters could be a sign of breeding.
“This sudden movement could be to forage in deeper waters, but we cannot rule out the possibility that it’s related to reproduction at this time of year,” said OCEARCH Senior Data Scientist John Tyminski.
Contender is the largest adult male white shark tagged in the Atlantic. OCEARCH / SWNS OCEARCH said these trends are common among mature male white sharks like Contender and Breton.
Since his tag on Wednesday, Contender has moved back closer to the Georgia coast, still in deeper waters, but just on the edge of the Gulf Stream.
Clocking in at nearly 14 feet long and roughly 1,650 pounds at the time of his tagging, Contender is OCEARCH’s largest male white shark ever tagged in the Atlantic.
OCEARCH first tagged Contender in January 2025 off the Florida/Georgia coast. OCEARCH / SWNS His movements have taken him all around the East Coast of the US, and up into Canada.
OCEARCH is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and protecting sharks, whales, sea turtles and other ocean life, tagging these animals to track and study their migration habits and behaviors from afar.
