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Migrating sharks tracked off coast of Outer Banks

Posted at 7:40 AM, Mar 27, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-27 07:40:42-04

OUTER BANKS, N.C. – A mako shark being tracked by Ocearch pinged off the coast of the Outer Banks early Tuesday morning.

Oscar pinged at 5:55 a.m. about 50 miles off the coast of Nags Head.

He was originally tagged in October of 2015 near Cape Cod. At the time he was tagged, Oscar was 7’8″ long and weighed 320 pounds! He has since traveled an estimated total of 17,048 miles!

His tracking map shows he has spent quite a bit of time off the coast of Virginia Beach and the Outer Banks since late February. He was also in the area around the same time in 2017.

A great white shark named George pinged off the coast of the Outer Banks on Monday morning, about 25 miles off the coast of Ocracoke. It’s not George’s first trip to the area either. He was tracked off the coast of the Outer Banks in 2017 and off the Virginia Beach coast in 2016.

George was tagged in October of 2016 near Nantucket. At the time he was tagged, George was 6’10” long and weighed 702 pounds! George was named for Expedition Leader Chris Fischer’s father. His mother’s namesake, Mary Lee, is also no stranger to the waters of the mid-Atlantic. She last pinged off the coast of Virginia Beach in May of 2017.

Both sharks appear to be following a pattern of similar years, heading back north after spending the winter in warmer waters down south.

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