Great white shark Contender reaches farthest north ever recorded

By Lauren Wilkin

The largest great white shark ever tagged in the Atlantic by a group of scientists has ventured into uncharted waters.

At nearly 14ft and 1,600 pounds, Contender is the largest male white shark ever tagged by OCEARCH - a shark research nonprofit organization - in the western North Atlantic.

The ocean giant recently passed through the Strait of Belle Isle before turning south into the Newfoundland Sea, off Canada.

His adventures put him further north than any other shark in their database has ever reached, and has left experts wondering what is drawing white sharks so far north and how big their range may actually be.

He was originally tagged offshore of the Florida-Georgia border on January 17 last year.

OCEARCH data scientist John Tyminski said: "Over the last 12 days, white shark Contender has cruised through the Strait of Belle Isle and then turned southward into the Newfoundland Sea.

"His ping from September 14th placed him on the north side of Newfoundland, in White Bay, about five miles north of Horse Islands.

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"Reaching Newfoundland isn't unprecedented for white sharks. What's unusual is how far north Contender has traveled and the route he's taken to get there.

"He is now exploring one of the northernmost areas of the Western North Atlantic white shark range.

"This region supports abundant fish and marine mammals, so it's possible that Contender is following seasonal concentrations of prey.

"But we can't say for certain why he's there. Satellite tracking tells us where a shark is—not necessarily what it's doing at that location."

Contender's epic migration has covered thousands of miles along the Atlantic coast, demonstrating the incredible range these apex predators can travel.

"Contender's route through the Strait of Belle Isle and into the Newfoundland Sea has taken him into an area that has not previously been documented by an OCEARCH-tagged white shark," the organization says.

"The big question now is whether this is a one-time excursion or whether Contender—and potentially other white sharks—regularly use these northern Newfoundland waters."