Contender, the largest male great white tagged by OCEARCH, surfaced several miles off Atlantic City on Nov. 12. Tagged Jan. 17 between Florida and Georgia, he measured 13 ft 9 in and weighed 1,653 lb, and now carries a SPOT satellite tag that will transmit for about five years. OCEARCH also collected biological samples now under analysis. Contender’s journey north passed Anticosti Island and Nova Scotia before he pinged near New Jersey around 9 p.m., following a migration pattern common to many tracked great whites.
Contender — OCEARCH’s Largest Tagged Male Great White Surfaces Off Atlantic City
Contender, the largest male great white tagged by OCEARCH, surfaced several miles off Atlantic City on Nov. 12. Tagged Jan. 17 between Florida and Georgia, he measured 13 ft 9 in and weighed 1,653 lb, and now carries a SPOT satellite tag that will transmit for about five years. OCEARCH also collected biological samples now under analysis. Contender’s journey north passed Anticosti Island and Nova Scotia before he pinged near New Jersey around 9 p.m., following a migration pattern common to many tracked great whites.
05:00 AM, 11/14/2025Science
Contender resurfaces off the Jersey Shore
Contender, the largest male great white shark ever tagged by OCEARCH, surfaced several miles off the coast of Atlantic City late on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
When researchers tagged Contender on Jan. 17, roughly 45 miles offshore between the Florida–Georgia border, he measured 13 ft 9 in and weighed 1,653 lb. OCEARCH has nicknamed him the “ultimate ocean warrior.” The team named him after the Contender sportfishing boats, which sponsor OCEARCH’s research.
Like all OCEARCH-tagged sharks, Contender carries a satellite transmitter — a SPOT tag — affixed to his dorsal fin. The tag is expected to provide near real-time location data for about five years, allowing scientists to follow his movements and learn more about great white migration patterns. OCEARCH also collected biological samples, including urogenital material, which are now being analyzed.
What is a “ping”? A ping happens when a SPOT tag remains above water long enough — usually about 90 seconds — to be detected by satellite. Those pings appear in OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker in near real time.
After tagging this past winter, Contender traveled north to summering grounds around Anticosti Island (off Quebec), then moved east past Nova Scotia on a direct route to New Jersey waters. His SPOT tag transmitted a ping near Atlantic City at around 9 p.m. on Wednesday.
Although Contender is the largest male OCEARCH has tagged, a female named Nukumi remains the organization’s largest shark overall: she measured 17 ft 2 in and weighed 3,541 lb at tagging, with her last recorded ping on April 11, 2021 along the Mid‑Atlantic Ridge.
Why this matters
Contender’s movements follow a familiar north–south migration seen in many OCEARCH-tagged great whites: northward to summer foraging grounds and southward for wintering areas in the southeastern United States. By compiling migration routes and biological data, OCEARCH helps map essential shark habitats and inform conservation efforts for these apex predators.
Researchers and the public can follow Contender and other tagged sharks in near real time on OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker to watch migrations and support ongoing study.