10-Foot Great White Shark Swimming Up the Entire East Coast Now Swimming Off the Canadian Coast

A juvenile, approximately 10-foot-long great white shark, named Penny, is currently swimming off the eastern Canadian coast near Cape Breton Island. Researchers with the non-profit ocean organization, OCEARCH, first tagged Penny off the coast of Ocracoke, North Carolina on April 23rd, 2023.

At the time of her tagging, she measured 10 feet, 3 inches long, and weighed 522 lbs. OCEARCH has four life phase categories for the sharks they tag: young of the year (under 1 year old), juvenile, sub-adult, and adult. Penny was tagged as a juvenile shark which places her at less than 10 years old.

Great white sharks can live at least 50 years, and a recent study on white sharks in the western North Atlantic Ocean found that both males and females grow and mature much more slowly than previously estimated. That study determined that males reach maturity around 26 years of age and females around 33. So, as a juvenile already measuring 10 feet long and weighing over 500 pounds, Penny may reach quite a substantial size at maturity. Females tend to be much larger than males and can grow up to 20 feet long.

10 Foot Great White Shark: Penny’s Journey Thus Far

After tagging Penny with a GPS tracker on April 23rd, 2023, off Ocracoke, North Carolina, the OCEARCH team received their first ping on April 24th, 2023 at approximately 8:30 am. Penny was still in the area, swimming around the Raleigh Bay. By noon of that day, she made a sharp turn north and started her journey towards Canada. She made a beeline up the coast and reached the waters a few miles off Assateague Island, Maryland on May 15th.

On May 29th, 2023, Penny’s tracker pinged just offshore from Ocean City, New Jersey. She remained in the area for a few days, with a ping marking her in the vicinity on June 2nd, 2023. However, on June 2nd, Penny geared up to continue her trek and headed once more north. Her next ping, on June 10th, placed this determined white shark near the coast of Montauk, New York.

The OCEARCH team didn’t receive a GPS ping again until July 5th, 2023. The researchers only receive location data when the tag breaks the surface of the water. Between June 10th and July 5th, Penny stayed in deeper waters. On July 5th, she reached the coastal waters of Maine, swimming off the coast of Georgetown Island. Interestingly, Penny stayed in this region for about a month. There, she zigzagged primarily between Sheepscot Bay and Casco Bay. Then, on August 9th, she continued her northeastern journey.

Penny Reaches Canada

The OCEARCH team received their next ping on August 29th, 2023. Penny was swimming a few miles off the coast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. But she didn’t linger there. Instead, she continued up the coast of Canada, reaching the coastal waters off Cape Breton Island on September 7th, 2023. Presumably, at the time of writing this report, this beautiful white shark is still in the Cape Breton Island area. This area, known for healthy populations of grey seals, may be an excellent hunting ground for Penny. You can continue to track Penny’s journey on OCEARCH’s website. They have travel logs for all of their tagged sharks, which the public can keep up with.

Why Does OCEARCH Track White Sharks?

By tagging and tracking white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), the research team at OCEARCH can collect crucial data on the movement and behavior of this threatened species. Knowing where white sharks migrate and why they choose to spend more time in certain areas helps marine biologists and conservationists better protect them. In addition to attaching a GPS tracker on the first dorsal fin of the shark, the OCEARCH team can collect 8 types of biological samples and attach up to three other types of tags. These samples and tags support 24 research projects conducted by OCEARCH on white sharks in the western North Atlantic.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Whitepointer