Another Great White shark spotted off the New Jersey coast

As the weather warms, the migratory patterns of the great white sharks takes them closer to the Jersey Shore, and a second one has been spotted near Cape May. According to the OCEARCH global shark tracker, it is a juvenile female great white named Martha. The non-profit organization lists Martha as being seven feet long, weighing 184 pounds.

According to the Asbury Park Press, another great white, Andromache, was pinged off the Jersey coast earlier this month near the Barnegat Inlet. OCEARCH captures the sharks and equips them with a transponder on their dorsal fin that is “pinged” when the shark surfaces by a satellite. Andromache was captured and released off the Massachusetts coast; at that time she was ten feet long.

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According to OCEARCH, Martha was the fourth great white tagged during an expedition off Massachusetts in August of 2020 and is named for Martha’s Vineyard. During the winter, Martha was tracked as far south as Georgia before making her way back up the East Coast. She has traveled almost 2400 miles over the past six months. Another juvenile female white shark, Charlotte, was pinged off the coast of North Carolina heading our way.

According to APP.com, the largest great white that OCEARCH has tagged is Nukumi, who is over 17 feet long and weighs over 3,500 pounds. She swam off the New Jersey coast last fall and was last pinged in April. Last year, in addition to Martha and Andromache, other sharks that were pinged near New Jersey include 12 foot, nine inch Caroline, 13 foot Vimy, and 800 pound Miss May.