Sharks are swimming off the Jersey coast

Although you may associate great white sharks with the summer, fall is the time for their annual migration south, passing by New Jersey as they go to warmer waters.

OCEARCH is the group that tags the sharks; they attach a beacon to the dorsal fin and it is tracked by satellite whenever the shark’s fin comes above water. Two great whites have “pinged” in the last week near New Jersey.

According to OCEARCH (and the Asbury Park Press), Charlotte, a juvenile female, was off the coast of Monmouth County. Charlotte is eight feet long and weighs over 300 pounds.

"Charlotte is a young teenager, not yet entering sexual maturity. With her 10 year acoustic tag, 5 year SPOT tag and 1 year PSAT tag we will be able to track Charlotte as she grows into full adulthood," stated Dr. Bob Hueter, OCEARCH Chief Scientist. According to OCEARCH, “Charlotte marks the 70th white shark tagged in our North Atlantic White Shark Study. She is named after the wonderful people of North Carolina that have been so hospitable to us during our Carolinas-based expeditions. “

Charlotte has been spotted as far north as Maine and is the second great white to pass by recently. Hali, a 10 foot almost 700 pound beast was pinged off New Jersey last week, also migrating south toward warmer waters.

According to the Asbury Park Press, two other great whites are poised to pass by the Garden State, as well. Andromache and Olympia are heading south and should be passing by soon.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.