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Record-Size Male Great White ‘Contender’ Returns to Florida After 5,300-Mile Migration

Fresh location data is helping researchers probe seasonal routes, including possible breeding sites.

The crew of Ocearch controls the 13-foot 9-inch Contender in the waters off of Jacksonville in early 2025. (Courtesy Ocearch)
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Overview

  • Ocearch’s tracker shows Contender has been pinging between Cape Canaveral and Port St. Lucie since Jan. 1, 2026.
  • His yearlong circuit spanned at least 5,300 miles, with movements from Florida to the Carolinas, Cape Cod, the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Sept. 29, Nova Scotia, New Jersey, and back south.
  • Contender measures 13 feet 9 inches and weighs about 1,700 pounds, described as the largest recorded male white shark in the Atlantic.
  • A SPOT dorsal-fin tag records surface locations, while six-month pop-up satellite tags reveal subsurface depth and temperature use that SPOT cannot capture.
  • Researchers are drawing blood for hormone profiles and checking males for sperm and mating bites to study reproduction as Contender enters reproductive age, with broader datasets linking seasonal shark distribution to prey such as protected seals in Canadian waters.