This is Contender, the largest male great white shark that’s been caught, tagged, and released in the Atlantic. Measuring 4.19 meters (13 feet 9 inches), this heavyweight predator has been quietly stalking up and down the US East Coast, where scientists hope his presence signals the revival of the region’s once-struggling great white population. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Contender was caught, tagged, and released by the non-profit OCEARCH on January 17, 2025, near the coast of Florida and Georgia, about 72 kilometers (45 miles) offshore.

Over the following months, his tracker showed him heading south along Florida’s coast before disappearing for nearly four weeks. He resurfaced in April off North Carolina, lurk

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