{"id":5816,"date":"2026-07-31T12:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/07\/31\/huge-great-white-spotted-traveling-up-us-and-canada-as-shark-sightings-surge\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T12:31:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T12:31:54","slug":"huge-great-white-spotted-traveling-up-us-and-canada-as-shark-sightings-surge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=5816","title":{"rendered":"Huge great white spotted traveling up US and Canada as shark sightings surge"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"636ce776-222c-4cbf-a5fc-f44e0520c334\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"man leans from a boat to tag a large shark swimming alongside in blue water\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/218f277461b03c6288cf73acf3dedc25fa831e63\/161_0_759_607\/master\/759.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.87747035573125\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Researcher Brett McBride conducting field research on white shark Contender.<\/span> Photograph: Ocearch<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"636ce776-222c-4cbf-a5fc-f44e0520c334\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Researcher Brett McBride conducting field research on white shark Contender.<\/span> Photograph: Ocearch<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">Huge great white spotted traveling up US and Canada as shark sightings surge<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Contender, largest tagged male great white, heading north as overheating oceans alter range of several shark species<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The largest tagged male great white shark in the Atlantic Ocean has been identified traveling up the US and Canada coastline amid a surge in sightings of sharks that are increasingly shifting their movement patterns due to the overheating of the oceans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The great white shark, named Contender, is nearly 14ft long and weighs more than 1,650lbs. The hulking fish has been pinged in several locations off North Carolina and Maine as he headed north for the summer, with Contender\u2019s last known location located off Nova Scotia in Canada on 11 July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Contender is the largest male ever tagged in the Atlantic by Ocearch, a shark research organization, which first attached <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ocearch.org\/tracker\/detail\/contender\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">a satellite tag to his dorsal fin in January last year<\/a>. The giant predator, thought to be 30 years old, shuttles between Florida and Canada in his seasonal migrations. Ocearch said it is confident that Contender, named after a research boat, is now summering in Canada.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The identification of Contender\u2019s movements comes as shark sightings have surged in locations including New York and <a href=\"https:\/\/fox5sandiego.com\/news\/local-news\/shark-sightings-southern-california\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">California<\/a>. There have been 16 sightings of sharks just in July off Rockaway Beach in New York City, a situation that has spurred some nervousness. \u201cIt\u2019s a little scary,\u201d one beachgoer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnewyork.com\/long-island\/confirm-swimmer-bitten-by-shark-jones-beach\/6523644\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">told NBC.<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1symy40\">\n<figure class=\"video-container loop \" data-component=\"gu-video-loop\">\n<div class=\"dcr-arez14\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a8ohzy\"><video id=\"video-c6444463-f4df-4bbc-8e41-210201c59271\" data-testid=\"self-hosted-video-player\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" preload=\"none\" loop=\"\" muted=\"\" playsinline=\"\" class=\"dcr-1a8mupg\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Researchers examining the largest tagged male great white shark, Contender\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/cf49426605278c48bbcc915f7fea5e5a43466dec\/97_0_597_1060\/563.jpg?width=120&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=9%3A16\" loading=\"lazy\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" class=\"dcr-11wzo8p\"><\/video><\/p>\n<div class=\"controls-container dcr-13cdgkt\"><button type=\"button\" class=\"play-pause-icon dcr-19641bk\" data-link-name=\"gu-video-loop-play-c6444463-f4df-4bbc-8e41-210201c59271\" data-testid=\"play-icon\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-1hnminq\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Researchers examining the largest tagged male great white shark, Contender<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">But scientists point out that while the chances of being attacked by a shark remains very small, rising ocean temperatures, caused by the human-driven climate crisis, are altering the range of several shark species, sometimes bringing them closer to where people are swimming or surfing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe are seeing evidence of a northward movement because of the warming waters and that means for there\u2019s more chances to see sharks,\u201d said Shannon Barry, a researcher at the Florida Institute of Technology who led recent <a href=\"https:\/\/sharkresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Berry-et-al.-2026_meps15095.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">research<\/a> finding that bull sharks have moved up the US\u2019s east coast.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cBull sharks are definitely going to be more near shore \u2013 they can go into low-salinity environments such as estuaries and near rivers, so that is something to keep in mind,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a potential increase in human-shark interactions as they are moving into places where people go to swim and fish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">This prospect does concern some people, Barry acknowledged, but she added that it was more striking that the morphing composition of the oceans was causing such a change.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The global water surface temperature hit a new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unsw.edu.au\/newsroom\/news\/2026\/07\/worlds-oceans-hottest-on-record-for-june-el-nino-set-to-turn-up-heat-even-more\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">record high<\/a> last month, the latest in the string of remarkable recent heat records as the ocean, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.climate.gov\/news-features\/understanding-climate\/climate-change-ocean-heat-content\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">which soaks up<\/a> 90% of the excess heat caused by the burning of fossil fuels, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2026\/jan\/09\/profound-impacts-record-ocean-heat-intensifying-climate-disasters\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">rapidly warms up and acidifies<\/a>. A developing El Ni\u00f1o, a periodic climatic event, is also driving up ocean temperatures.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Most sharks do not like the cold and so are able to venture northwards as the oceans warm up and prey species distribution changes, although the extra heat may soon become so extreme that great white sharks face the risk of fatally overheating, researchers <a href=\"https:\/\/e360.yale.edu\/digest\/great-white-sharks-climate\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">recently warned<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cThe reaction should be concerning because we can see sharks are the canary in the coalmine to this problem,\u201d Barry said. \u201cBull sharks generally hang out in south Florida and the Bahamas and now we are seeing them moving. That is something that people can see and think, \u2018Oh, I can see the effect of climate change there.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"a1faa0f9-90a7-4cea-b466-f17ab3f19bfc\" data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-d9bay7\">\n<div id=\"img-2\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a shark in water\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/a7908020365a1a2c5c7e7c66448502427d1f180b\/0_0_3486_2320\/master\/3486.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"445\" height=\"296.1560527825588\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><a href=\"#img-2\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"a1faa0f9-90a7-4cea-b466-f17ab3f19bfc\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-174mzkf\"><span class=\"dcr-vyhg7z\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">A bull shark cruises through the water during an eco tourism shark dive off of Jupiter, Florida, on 5 May 2022. <\/span> Photograph: Anadolu\/Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">This month, a man visiting a beach in Florida <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/miami\/news\/florida-shark-attack-georgia-man-pregnant-fiancee\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">said<\/a> he was bitten on the foot by a shark, causing the release of a \u201cwhole lot of blood\u201d as he attempted to get his pregnant fiancee to safety. But there is little evidence of an increase in such incidents and attacks on people remain rare, with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu\/shark-attacks\/yearly-worldwide-summary\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">only<\/a> 65 unprovoked shark bites on humans recorded worldwide in all of last year, with 25 of these in the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">By contrast, humans kill about 100 million sharks a year by accidentally tangling them in fishing nets or actively catching them for sport, food or the shark fin trade. Removing sharks can damage whole marine ecosystems, Barry said. \u201cSeeing a lot of sharks is usually a good thing; it means the surrounding food web is healthy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Conservation measures and increased surveillance means that some shark numbers are recovering and they are being spotted more easily, according to Neil Hammerschlag, executive director of the Shark Research Foundation, but global heating is pushing them into places where they haven\u2019t been seen before.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe are seeing tiger sharks, for example, moving north of Cape Cod, and previously that would be very, very rare,\u201d he said. \u201cStill, fear of sharks shouldn\u2019t deter anyone from enjoying the ocean. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/sharks\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Sharks<\/a> generally don\u2019t want to be around people; they try to avoid us. We are like aliens to them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Hammerschlag added, though, that humans are \u201cjust visitors to the ocean and we should be shark aware\u201d. This includes avoiding wearing shiny jewellery in the water, which can resemble the scales of a fish, or swimming at dusk or when there\u2019s an unusual amount of fish activity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe have to be aware we are not the only ones in the ocean,\u201d he said. \u201cSharks aren\u2019t lurking in the water, they are living in the water. We are in their territory.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US news<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/environment\/sharks\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Sharks<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/environment\/marine-life\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Marine life<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/environment\/wildlife\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Wildlife<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/animals\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Animals<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/environment\/conservation\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Conservation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/environment\/climate-crisis\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Climate crisis<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=Huge%20great%20white%20spotted%20traveling%20up%20US%20and%20Canada%20as%20shark%20sightings%20surge&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/31\/great-white-shark-us-canada-coasts?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fjul%2F31%2Fgreat-white-shark-us-canada-coasts&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/jul\/31\/great-white-shark-us-canada-coasts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Researcher Brett McBride conducting field research on white shark Contender. Photograph: Ocearch View image in fullscreen Researcher Brett<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}