Trackers spot a 1,400-pound great white shark off the coast of North Carolina

A massive great white shark weighing more than 1,400 pounds was tracked off the coast of North Carolina this weekend. 

The shark, named Breton by nonprofit marine research group OCEARCH, is 13 feet, 3 inches long. He weighs 1,437 pounds. 

Breton pinged off Hatteras, North Carolina, OCEARCH said on Monday. Several juvenile sharks have been spotted in the same area recently. 

“Many of our animals use the productive continental shelf waters around the Outer Banks, NC as a spring staging area before making their migration north for their summer residency,” OCEARCH wrote on Facebook.

Breton was first tagged off of Nova Scotia in 2020, OCEARCH tracking data shows. He was named for Cape Breton, where he was tagged. 

The shark has traveled up and down the East Coast in the years since he was first tagged. In the U.S. Atlantic area, great white sharks range from Maine down to the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Great white sharks are considered apex predators, according to the administration. They can weigh up to 4,500 pounds and grow to be up to 21 feet long.