Surprise Appearance of 11-Foot Great White Shark “Dold” Off New Jersey Coast
Spielberg couldn’t have scripted it better.
An 11-foot great white shark named “Dold” made a surprise cameo off a popular stretch of New Jersey’s beach coast Friday — the 50th anniversary of the premiere of “Jaws.”
The 761-pound predator, which had been tagged by researchers at OCEARCH, sent a satellite “ping” in the early morning about 40 miles off Monmouth County, which boasts beaches such as Long Branch, Asbury Park, and Spring Lake, the Asbury Park Press reported.
Dold’s appearance overlapped with the 50th anniversary of the Hollywood shark thriller “Jaws,” which was famously directed by Steven Spielberg and premiered June 20, 1975.
The shark, who is named after SeaWorld conservationist Christopher Dold, was first tagged in February near the Florida-Georgia border after being briefly held on a research vessel, according to OCEARCH.
A satellite tag was placed on Dold’s dorsal fin, and an acoustic device was tucked inside his body to allow researchers to track his movements, according to the outlet.
Researchers described the shark about 25 years old — not quite an adult yet — and said he could grow up to 18 feet.
Since being tagged, Dold swam south to the gulf of Florida and curved back north in May to cruise along the East Coast as part of his seasonal migration, the nonprofit documented.
His dorsal “ping” occurs when his fin breaks the ocean surface long enough — or for about 90 seconds — for a satellite to capture it, researchers said.
The nonprofit has tagged more than 100 great white sharks in the past 15 years, the outlet said.
Dold’s weight is nothing compared to some sharks previously tagged by the organization, such as Contender, a 1,653-pound bruiser last seen near the East Coast’s Outer Banks, or Nukumi, a 3,541-pound female who hasn’t pinged since 2021.
