Massive great white shark was lurking off North Carolina coast, tracking data show

Three large great white sharks were detected off the coast of North Carolina last week, including one that is the largest male shark to be tagged by OCEARCH in Canadian waters, according to the ocean research agency that tags and tracks sharks around the world.

The transmitter for Mahone, who measures 13 feet 7 inches and weighs 1,701 pounds, pinged most recently off the coast of North Carolina on Saturday, April 9, at 8:50 pm, according to the agency. A transmitter pings when a shark spends enough time at the surface for satellites to accurately pick up its location.

The shark was tagged in October 2020 in Nova Scotia and has been tracked traveling up and down the waters off the east coast of North America ever since, according to OCEARCH tracking data.

Two other large great whites pinged off the North Carolina coast last week, including Ulysses, a 12-foot, 990-pound shark who was detected off the coast on April 6, and Tancook, a 10-foot, 715-pound shark, who pinged on April 9, according to the agency’s tracking map.

OCEARCH launched an expedition in the Carolinas in March to research the theory that the coastline is the location where great whites in the Western Atlantic gather each year to mate.

Last month, researchers caught and tagged a great white off the North Carolina coast and named it Charlotte in honor of North Carolina’s largest city.

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