OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker Pings 13.8-Foot Great White Shark ‘Commander’ Off South Brevard Coast
By Space Coast Daily // March 21, 2025
OCEARCH's largest tagged adult male
BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA — Global Shark Tracker is buzzing with activity, making for an exciting start to the week, with a Triple Shark Ping Alert ranging from North Carolina to Palm Bay.
White Shark Contender, OCEARCH‘s largest tagged adult male, was last spotted off Palm Bay, Florida, just west of the Gulf Stream—holding steady offshore.
White Shark Danny is cruising north, now off the coast of Cape Lookout, NC. White Shark Dold just entered the Straits of Florida, east of Key Largo—will he continue into The Gulf like many other tagged sharks?
Contender, the ultimate ocean warrior, is a mighty white shark tagged off the Florida-Georgia on January 17, 2025, about 45 miles offshore.
At 13.8 feet long and weighing an estimated 1,653 pounds, Contender is a mature male now contributing to OCEARCH’s shark research and ocean conservation mission.
“The SPOT tag deployed on Contender will provide valuable real-time data for approximately five years, helping us track his movements and understand his migration patterns,” said an OCEARCH official.
“Additionally, we’ve collected important biological samples, including urogenital material, which are currently being analyzed.”
Contender’s name is in honor of Contender Boats, a longtime OCEARCH partner whose industry-leading sport fishing and pleasure boats enable our research missions. Their commitment to performance and innovation is essential to our ability to explore and protect our oceans.
Follow Contender HERE on his journey to help protect sharks and the ocean ecosystem.
OCEARCH is a data-centric organization built to help scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean. They facilitate unprecedented research by supporting collaborative teams of scientists from various institutions and disciplines.
Their mission is to accelerate the ocean’s return to balance and abundance through fearless innovations in scientific research, education, outreach, and policy using unique open-source data.
OCEARCH operates worldwide and is best known for tagging and tracking apex predators like sharks. Its research vessel acts as a floating laboratory where scientists can collect samples and research in real-time.
They also provide open access to their data through the OCEARCH Tracker, which allows the public and researchers to follow the movements of tagged marine animals worldwide.
