3,541 Pound Great White Shark Spotted Off New York Coast

A great white shark, weighing more than 3,500 pounds, has been spotted off the New York Coast.

Nukumi, pronounced noo-goo-mee, is named after the legendary wise old grandmother figure of the Native American Mi'kmaq people, a culture that has deep roots in Canadian Maritime provinces, particularly Nova Scotia where an OCEARCH science team was able to tag, sample and release her back into the water.

OCEARCH is a non-profit organization conducting unprecedented research on great white sharks. Nukumi is the largest great white OCEARCH has studied in the Northwest Atlantic to date and she will provide data for 21 collaborative research projects along with seven other white sharks tagged during an expedition in Nova Scotia on October 2nd. The new data collected will help balance fish stocks in the surrounding waters, and scientists look forward to learning more in the years to come. "We have accomplished more in two weeks than what has taken scientists about three years to accomplish in the past," said Doctor Alex Hearn of UC Davis Biotelemetry Lab.

Nukumi is known as the queen of the ocean and is estimated to be 50 years old, measuring 17 feet, 2 inches long. "When you handle an animal of this size it will hit you in a completely different way from an emotional standpoint," said Chris Fischer, OCEARCH Expedition Leader. "You feel this aweness and respect for the animal, its wisdom, what it's done to provide for us all. A deep level of respect."

You can track Nukumi and other sharks in real time with the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker, and learn more at Ocearch.org.