The non-profit group OCEARCH tagged the 14-foot shark, named Contender, in the North Atlantic back in January.
To help scientists gather data that was previously impossible, OCEARCH conducts study on huge marine species.
The species just appeared near the shore of Nantucket, Massachusetts, after being only 45 miles off the Florida-Georgia coast in January.
Dr. Harley Newton, OCEARCH’s chief scientist and veterinarian, explained in June: “This time of year white sharks are starting their late spring/early summer migration (16 May to 30 June) moving from their southern overwintering area to their summer/fall foraging areas in the northeastern US and Atlantic Canada.”
We often see the sharks on our global shark tracker spend a period of time off the Outer Banks right before they move north, which is what white shark Contender appears to be doing.”
“This may be due to rich food resources in the region and would serve as a time to feed and prepare before what may be a journey of 1,000 miles or more.”
To help with shark conservation, the contestant’s position is tracked through tagging. The shark was tagged by affixing a satellite tag to his fin, which sends out real-time GPS information each time the shark comes to the surface.
The Mirror reports that the shark has already travelled more than 2,000 miles since January and is already on its way to Martha’s Vineyard.
OCEARCH’s Data Scientist, John Tyminski, told the publication, “Based solely on the locations from the pings he’s provided, we estimate that Contender has travelled at least 2,433 miles since his January 17 tagging.”
“That fact that Contender is fairly far off Cape Cod at this point might suggest that he’s going to continue northward and take up summer residence in Atlantic Canada. But only time will tell.”
“Since we only tagged Contender this past January, we have no history of his summer movements and can only speculate on where he might go next.”
Cape Cod’s population, which is made up of locals, visitors, and second-home owners, more than doubles in size every summer, from its typical 220,000 inhabitants to over 500,000.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrvhNP_lWuPIP6QZzJmM-bw
According to The Mirror, Cape Cod, Massachusetts officials have instructed locals and visitors to report any shark sightings in the area.
Visitors can follow Contender’s whereabouts and observe his exact whereabouts throughout the past few months on the OCEARCH website.