Researchers have picked up a fresh signal from Contender after the giant predator vanished from satellite tracking for months, with experts believing it could be making its way to popular beaches
The largest male great white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic has resurfaced after months – and experts believe it could be heading towards popular seaside destinations.
Contender, a 14ft great white weighing a staggering 750kg, disappeared from satellite tracking after last being detected off the Outer Banks of North Carolina in the USA in April. But researchers have now picked up a fresh signal from the giant predator’s tracking tag, sparking fresh interest in where it could surface next.
The shark was tagged by research group OCEARCH about 45 miles off the Georgia and Florida coast in January 2025 and has since travelled more than 7,000 miles along North America’s eastern coastline. The latest detection came on June 7, but researchers said it was only a weak “Z-ping”, meaning the tracking device was not exposed above the surface long enough to provide an exact location.
Experts believe Contender could now be making its seasonal migration towards Cape Cod or Atlantic Canada – two areas with popular seaside destinations.
An OCEARCH spokesperson said: “White sharks in the western North Atlantic typically migrate north and spend the summer and early fall foraging in the waters of Cape Cod or Atlantic Canada. These two regions offer comfortable water temperatures and an abundant food supply, in particular abundant seals and large fish species.”
The organisation said the shark’s fin-mounted tracking tag can only transmit a location when it briefly breaks the water’s surface.
They said: “The Z-ping is a weak non-locational ping. It typically occurs when the shark’s fin-mounted tag is briefly at the surface and just one single message is received by an overhead Argos satellite. Normally three or more messages are needed during a single satellite pass to calculate a reliable location.”
They added: “As Shark Tracker shows, we received a non-locational Z-ping from Contender on July 7. The last actual location for Contender was on April 23 when he was off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.”
The 1,700lb predator has travelled more than 7,000 miles since being tagged, with researchers tracking its movements from waters off Florida to the Gulf of St Lawrence in Canada.
OCEARCH previously said Contender is the largest male great white shark it has ever tagged in the Atlantic. On 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.
Ocearch senior data scientist John Tyminski said : “”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.”
Great white sharks have inhabited the world’s oceans for more than 400 million years and Ocearch hopes tracking his movements will help them better understand the patterns of Great White Sharks, he said: “Each new ping deepens our understanding of these apex predators—their life history, movements, and potential breeding areas—offering critical insights for conservation.”
Researchers hope tracking his movements will help them better understand the migration, behaviour and potential breeding patterns of great white sharks.
