Great white shark researchers are tracking a massive predator that recently surfaced off the coast of Canada — and it’s being called the largest ever recorded in the Atlantic. The 14-foot, 1,653-pound shark, known as Contender, was tagged by OCEARCH, a marine research nonprofit, and has now “pinged” from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near the Labrador Peninsula.
Chris Fischer, 56, OCEARCH’s founder and expedition leader, said, “Only a couple have made it that far north. An animal like that, spending the summer and fall up north — what are they doing? Well, a lot of what they’re doing is preparing for the winter.”
Fischer explained that Contender is “putting a lot of pressure on the seals, eating seals constantly, swimming in front of seal colonies, trying to put on some weight before he proceeds back down to Florida for the oncoming winter.”
But the shark’s appetite may actually benefit local ecosystems. “The byproduct of putting that pressure on the seals is really good, they’re guarding our fish stocks,” Fischer said. “If that white shark’s not there, those seals go out and they wipe out all the fish.”
Tagged off Florida earlier this year, Contender’s northward journey and survival in frigid waters showcase the species’ resilience. “White sharks have the capacity to warm themselves and be in cold water, but they have to have a lot of food,” Fischer said.
Researchers hope Contender’s movements will help identify the world’s first known great white shark mating site — a discovery decades in the making.
