Largest great white shark tagged in Atlantic makes 'sudden movement' near coast

Largest great white shark tagged in Atlantic makes 'sudden movement' near coastThe 750kg shark has been swimming 'closer to the coast'NewsSteffan Rhys Deputy Content Hub Director11:44, 06 Apr 2026View 2 ImagesContender, the largest great white shark tagged by Ocearch in the Atlantic ocean, weighs 750kg(Image: Ocearch)The largest great white shark tagged in the Atlantic ocean has made a "sudden movement", helping scientists learn about the behaviour of the extraordinary animals.‌Contender, a 14ft-long great white shark weighing 750kg, has been pinged off the coast of the USA. He had been tagged by Ocearch, a a global non-profit organisation researching sharks and other ocean-going animals.‌Contender was tagged by Ocearch in January 2025 about 45 miles off the Florida/Georgia coast. Since then, his movements have been tracked up and down the eastern coast of North America, from Orlando in the south to the coast of Quebec in north-west Canada. In recent days, he has been pinged off the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.‌The closest he has got to shore in that time include on March 12, when he was pinged not far off the coast of Florida at popular tourist town St Augustine, on January 16 again off the coast of Florida not far from Orlando, on February 16 near Wilmington in North Carolina and on September 29 off the coast of Quebec.On Wednesday, April 1, Contender was pinged past the Gulf Stream deep off the coast of Georgia. But he has since moved rapidly out to deeper waters in the Atlantic, prompting scientists to say it 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. Ocearch says these trends are common among mature male white sharks like Contender, which is Ocearch's largest male great white shark ever tagged in the Atlantic. It said: &qu...