Massive white shark Nukumi, pronounced noo-goo-mee, is making waves as she crosses the Mid-Atlantic ridge.
The 17-foot-long white shark was tagged during Expedition Nova Scotia by shark trackers OCEARCH.
At the time of her tagging the mature female weighed in at 3,541 pounds, and length of 17’ 2” making her the largest shark OCEARCH has tagged in the Atlantic Ocean. She was given the nickname Queen of the Ocean.
Nukumi received her name in honor of the legendary wise old grandmother figure of the First Nations people the Mi’kmaq.
She was tagged with a satellite tracker on Oct. 5, 2020 off Cape Forchu, Nova Scotia, and by Nov. 16 had traveled nearly 800-miles to the coast of South Carolina.
The estimated 50-year-old shark stayed in South Carolina until Feb 21, 2021 when she headed out to deeper water.
By March 1 her tracker was pinging on the Hatteras Plain which is several hundred miles off the coast of Bermuda.
She continued heading south and, when her dorsal fin broke the surface for at least 15 seconds, a pinging signal was sent to satellites to record her position.
On March 7, Nukumi was in the Sargasso Sea, which would align with the tip of the Florida Keys and above the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic. She continued heading east and by April 5, was on top of the North Atlantic ridge and by April 11, she had officially passed over the ridge.
At the time of her tagging, Nukumi had several scars on her gills, which could be an indication of breeding. Could it be possible that she is headed into deep water to gestate or could she be looking for a new partner?
If she continues heading east, she will eventually end up off the coast of Africa, maybe even Morocco.
Not the first white shark to be tracked crossing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
While Nukumi is the largest OCEARCH-tagged shark to cross the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, she is not the first.
Great white shark Lydia crossed the ridge in 2014. The 14-foot long shark was tagged off the coast of Florida and had traveled around 30,500 km.
At the time, some scientists speculated she could be pregnant. Male great white sharks deliver their sperm in a packet surrounded by a shell. The package is broken down by a special organ, so female sharks could become pregnant sometime after mating. It appeared Lydia had been making her way toward Britain, but by March 11, 2014 she turned back and continued to the United States.
As Nukumi continues her journey, we will continue to learn and add more data points the mysterious travels of the great white shark.
