A great white shark weighing in at 522 pounds was caught swimming off the coast of New Jersey on Monday.
Penny, a juvenile female shark that measures 10 feet, three inches, was seen at 6:48 a.m. on Monday off the coast of Ocean City, according to OCEARCH, a nonprofit marine group that keeps tabs on sharks and their movements.
The technology OCEARCH uses sends “pings” to researchers every time the shark breaches water.
Before her tracker pinged Monday, Penny’s was last pinged on April 24 off Ocracoke, North Carolina.
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OCEARCH is a nonprofit marine group that keeps tabs on sharks and their movements. (OCEARCH/Chris Ross)
Penny’s appearance of the Ocean City coast comes amid a flurry of recent unprovoked shark attacks ranging from Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean to the coast off Stone Harbor, New Jersey.
A 15-year-old Pennsylvania girl suffered injuries consistent with a shark attack while she was surfing off the coast of Stone Harbor in southern New Jersey on earlier this month, according to Fox 29.
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This undated photo provided by Atlantic White Shark Conservancy shows Great White Shark Turbo. (Atlantic White Shark Conservancy via AP)
The girl suffered lacerations to her leg and required six stitches after she was rescued from the water, but her injuries were not life-threatening.
Unprovoked shark bites are not common and fatal shark bites are especially rare.
Worldwide, there were approximately 70 to 80 unprovoked shark bites annually over the past decade.
There were approximately 70 to 80 unprovoked shark bites each year worldwide over the past decade, with only 57 unprovoked bites in 2022. (Getty Images)
In 2022, there were only 57 unprovoked shark bites, five of which were fatal, according to data from the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File.
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The number marked a decrease from nine fatal shark bites in 2021, according to the data. Most fatal shark bites globally take place off the coast of Florida.
