Researchers at the Jersey Shore are on the lookout for Great White sharks. NBC10’s Ted Greenberg gives us an inside look at the tools they’re using to track one of the ocean’s greatest predators. Track sharks at the shore with OCEARCH by clicking HERE or by downloading the Global Shark Tracker app for your iPhone or Android.
A new great white shark is off the coast of the Jersey shore.
Gurney pinged (meaning its dorsal fin broke the water's surface and transmitted a signal to a satellite) miles off the coast of Ocean City, New Jersey around 5:17 a.m. Thursday, according to nonprofit research group OCEARCH’s Global Shark Tracker.
The 4-foot, 5-inch, 61-pound white shark, a.k.a. a great white shark, that was tagged off the coast of Long Island over the summer appears to be headed south as he pinged Wednesday night off the coast of Brigantine.
Gurney’s appearance comes after a summer that saw other white sharks — including Cisco, JD, and most famously, Mary Lee — turned up in the waters off New Jersey. Gurney’s position Thursday is much further from the coast than those other sharks got.
OCEARCH expedition leader Chris Fischer says the group's mission is to gain data about the white shark population in hopes of protecting fish in the ocean. He says people shouldn’t fear a shark being in local waters. Instead, they should celebrate it because of what a shark means to the ocean ecosystem.
"People should be terrified of an ocean that's not full of sharks. They keep everything in balance," Fischer said. "So, if we want to make sure that our great-grandchildren can eat fish sandwiches, we need lots of big sharks."
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
You can track the movements of Gurney by clicking here or by downloading the Global Shark Tracker app for your iPhone or Android. You can also follow Gurney on Twitter.
