Recent satellite tracking of Contender, the largest adult male white shark tagged in the Atlantic, is offering new insights into why these magnificent creatures migrate.
In January 2025, OCEARCH successfully tagged Contender off the coast between Florida and Georgia, marking the beginning of a significant scientific endeavor.
Since his tagging, Contender’s movements have been closely monitored through satellite signals, revealing his migratory patterns throughout the year.
On April 1, a satellite ping located Contender beyond the Gulf Stream, far off the coast of Georgia, indicating a notable shift in his journey.
According to OCEARCH researchers, his transition from Florida’s coastal waters to the open sea might be linked to breeding activities.
“His rapid movement into deeper waters could be for feeding purposes, but we also suspect it might be associated with reproductive behavior during this season,” explained John Tyminski, OCEARCH’s Senior Data Scientist.
OCEARCH said these trends are common among mature male white sharks like Contender and Breton.
Since his tag on Wednesday, Contender has moved back closer to the Georgia coast, still in deeper waters, but just on the edge of the Gulf Stream.
Clocking in at nearly 14 feet long and roughly 1,650 pounds at the time of his tagging, Contender is OCEARCH’s largest male white shark ever tagged in the Atlantic.
His movements have taken him all around the East Coast of the US, and up into Canada.
OCEARCH is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to researching and protecting sharks, whales, sea turtles and other ocean life, tagging these animals to track and study their migration habits and behaviors from afar.
