Great White Sharks in New Jersey: Where They Live and How Often They’re Spotted

When you’re thinking of the beaches of New Jersey, you’re probably not thinking about an encounter with a great white shark. After all, it seems like great whites and other types of sharks would only be found in warmer waters. However, there are great white sharks in New Jersey — and a lot of them. Keep reading to learn more about the great whites of New Jersey!

Great White Sharks in New Jersey

New Jersey is home to three main species of sharks: the smooth dogfish, the sandbar shark, and the sand tiger shark. These sharks thrive in the calm and shallow saltwater areas you can find doting the Jersey shore. However, while these are the main types of sharks you’ll come across in New Jersey, you may find great whites here, too.

Where Do Great White Sharks Live?

Great whites live in temperate coastal waters. This spans from the United States to as far south as New Zealand and Australia. They’re most common in areas with high populations of fish and crustaceans, such as reefs. This is because these areas provide plenty of food for great whites to thrive. After all, sharks can eat up to three percent of their weight each time they hunt!

Are Great White Sharks Common in New Jersey?

Believe it or not, you can find great white sharks in New Jersey, but they’re quite common! In fact, one was spotted just in May 2022. This shark, Tancook, was first tagged in Nova Scotia. However, he recently made his way downshore to show up in New Jersey. He’s estimated to be over 10 feet long and weigh more than 700 pounds.

However, Tancook isn’t the only great white shark in New Jersey. There have been several sharks to make an appearance in New Jersey over the years, and even more that haven’t yet been tagged and named.

Just a month before Tancook, in April 2022, Ironbound appeared off the coast of the state. However, even at 1,000 pounds, Ironbound isn’t the largest great white to be seen in New Jersey. Take Mary Lee, for instance. Mary Lee is a massive female shark who last pinged in New Jersey waters in 2017. She sizes in at 16 feet long and weighs almost 3,500 pounds.

Although great white sharks are common in New Jersey, spottings by beachgoers aren’t nearly as frequent. This is because great whites like Tancook, Ironbound, and Mary Lee prefer to swim in deeper waters where fish and other types of prey are more abundant. They will occasionally come closer, however! Sometimes, this is out of curiosity. Other times, it’s because they’re looking for shallow-water prey like seals and sea lions.

Where Else Can You Find Great White Sharks?

Outside of Arctic and Antarctic waters, you can find great white sharks virtually everywhere in the world. They’re most common in the United States, South Africa, Asia, and Australia, although you can also find them elsewhere.

Despite how common they are and the stigma around them, great white shark bites are rare. In fact, great white sharks don’t exactly know what they are, so most bites aren’t out of aggression anyway. Instead, they’re out of curiosity or mistake identity. After all, a surfer on a board and a seal can look pretty similar when you’re 30 feet below!

It’s important to avoid encounters with great whites — for your safety and theirs. Some of the best ways to do this are to pay attention to warnings when going to the beach and try not to swim in water with high turbidity. You should also avoid swimming in the early morning or evening when sharks are more likely to hunt and thus mistake you for dinner.

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