A massive, 880-pound shark was spotted swimming off the coast of the Jersey Shore and Long Island over the weekend, according to the nonprofit OCEARCH.
Freya, an 11-foot sub-adult female white shark, pinged off the coast of Atlantic City beach late Friday afternoon after she was first tagged near North Carolina in March, the shark-tracking group said.
“White shark Freya is swimming tight to @AtlanticCityGov. Be advised,” the organization wrote on Twitter.
By Sunday morning, Freya was swimming by Fire Island off the coast of Long Island and was lurking near the Hamptons by that evening.
OCEARCH said Freya is continuing her journey north and is likely following “huge schools” of menhaden, a type of forage fish, as they make their way up the coast.
“Menhaden are important forage fish that help balance the coastal marine ecosystem,” OCEARCH explained in a tweet.
“Menhaden’s return to abundance in the Atlantic and specifically this region has [led] to the return of whales in the NJ/NY area and is why white sharks drop off their pups in this birthing region. A healthy base of forage fish are essential to the rest of the ecosystem.”
Chris Fischer, the founder of OCEARCH, said Freya’s journey and the abundance of menhaden are “something to celebrate.”
“Our oceans in this region are rebounding after many years of conservation efforts by many organizations and continuing this trend will deliver an ocean full of life to future generations,” Fischer wrote on Twitter.
Freya’s name was chosen by OCEARCH’s partner Sea World and translates to “Noble Woman,” the group said.
They explained she was named in “homage to the noble women researchers on both Expedition Carolinas and on all past research expeditions who are working to uncover crucial shark insights related to their species’ conservation.”
The group gets a “ping” from Freya and the other sharks they track when their dorsal fin is out of the water long enough to be picked up by a satellite.
Freya last pinged Monday night in the Rhode Island Sound and appears to be headed to Cape Cod.
