Great White Shark Dold Surprises Off New Jersey Coast on Jaws Anniversary

An 11-foot great white shark, named Dold, was spotted near the New Jersey shoreline marking the 50th anniversary of the iconic film Jaws. The shark, weighing approximately 761 pounds, was detected through satellite tracking signals early Friday morning about 40 miles off Monmouth County, which includes popular beaches like Long Branch and Asbury Park.

Dold, a young shark estimated to be around 25 years old and capable of growing up to 18 feet, was first tagged in February near the Florida-Georgia border. Researchers fitted a satellite tag on his dorsal fin and embedded an acoustic device inside his body for ongoing tracking. Since then, Dold has migrated along the Atlantic coast, swimming south and then returning north as part of his seasonal movement pattern.

The shark’s appearance coincided with the anniversary of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, which debuted on June 20, 1975. Dold’s tracking data was part of a broader effort by OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization that has tagged over 100 great white sharks in the past decade. Their goal is to monitor these predators to learn more about their behaviors and migration paths.

While Dold’s weight is notable, other sharks tagged by OCEARCH have been even larger. For example, Contender, a 1,653-pound shark, was last seen off the Outer Banks, and Nukumi, a female weighing over 3,500 pounds, has not pinged since 2021.