A lost satellite tag that washed up on a Gold Coast beach has been reunited with scientists after detaching from a great white shark.

The device detached from a four-metre female shark nicknamed Davenport near Rainbow Beach, initiating an unexpected international scavenger hunt.

Scientists routinely collect DNA samples from sharks and then tag them to enable the monitoring of their movements and behaviour.

These tags, while providing valuable data, are not without their vulnerabilities.

Shark scientist Riley Elliot explained the detachment of the tag is "a normal process, it's the least invasive to the sharks but it's an expensive tag and hopefully you can get them back because you can reuse them".

The tag's journey was tracked using the Great White app.

"The tag was floating

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