Huge Great White Pings Off Jersey Shore

Nukumi is a BIG shark. She's clocking in at 17 feet 2 inches, and 3,541 pounds! Yes, that's right, she is actually BIGGER than the infamous Mary Lee, who was measured at 16 feet, 3,400 pounds.

Mary Lee was a bit more of a threat because she was pinging so close to shore; for now we do not have much to worry about when it comes to Nukumi, as she is pinging well off the coast of Monmouth County. She does seem to be taking the same path up and down our coast that Mary Lee did.

The Asbury Park Press has a few pictures from this past October when OCEARCH first tagged Nukumi. They also estimate Nukumi to be about 50 years old, which means she could have given birth to as many at 100 "pups" in her life, and could be the "grandmother" to hundreds more.

Yes, I totally understand that "sharks live in the ocean DUH!", so you don't have to jump into the comment section to say it. I know the ocean is big and scary and full of things that could eat me...that doesn't make it any less fascinating to find out about these giant predators that are relatively close to our area.

Nukumi is the latest to join the "Jersey Shore Great White Shark Club", which includes Martha, a 7', 200lb shark spotted near Atlantic City, along with Brunswick, a relatively tiny fella, weighing in at 8'9", 431 pounds. There is also big boy Ironside, a 12', 998 pound shark who pinged near Barnegat. We have Caroline, a 12-foot-9-inch, 1,348-pounder who pinged about seventy miles off the coast of Seaside Heights. Miss May, a 10', 800lb female has made a few annual appearances around Independence Day. Mary Lee was the biggest and baddest, but now it looks like Nukumi has taken the size crown!

My coworker Shawn Michaels @ WOBM pointed out that there is a male great white named "Beacon" who is much smaller, but is closer to the Monmouth-Ocean shoreline. A third male great white "Bluenose" is pinging between Beacon & Nukumi.

Be sure to check out OCEARCH.org to track sharks!