Massive White Shark Bears Down on N.C. Outer Banks
Scientists call him Contender. He’s the largest white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, and he’s making his way toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
The last telemetry recording showed the big shark a short distance off Pamlico Sound along the state’s coast, about 100 miles south of Norfolk, Virginia.
The website Ocearch tracks the shark and shows that the ocean predator has been prowling offshore for a few days.
The shark was tagged off the Florida coast on Jan. 17. Ocearch said Contender will be a valuable part of ocean research now that he’s been tagged.
Delusions of Adequacy 
“The largest white shark ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.”
I wonder why that is. The shark is just under 14′. I’ve seen several Great Whites longer than that. One a verified 19′. All were in the north Pacific.
Great Whites are not rare in the Atlantic. Maybe it’s the relatively lack of food in the Atlantic compared to the Pacific. While the Pacific is much larger, the migratory patterns are the same. Meaning large tracts in both oceans are empty of this shark species.
The south flowing cold water Labrador current and the north flowing warm water Gulf current do fairly hug the Atlantic coast along the U.S. That would suggest plenty enough food.
Maybe it’s that researchers don’t tag large fish, or the fish they do tag don’t make it, or their tag falls off or stops working.
Yet in the south and north Pacific researchers have tagged plenty of large specimen.
That’s my not so mundane thought for today.
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