A research nonprofit has hauled in for study a female great white shark off Nova Scotia that measures more than 17 feet, making her the largest shark the organization has tagged and sampled in the Northwest Atlantic.
OCEARCH announced the discovery last week dubbing her the “Queen of the Ocean.”
“When you handle an animal of this size it will hit you in a completely different way from an emotional standpoint,” OCEARCH expedition leader Chris Fischer said. “You feel this awareness and respect for the animal, its wisdom, what it’s done to provide for us all. A deep level of respect.”
The shark weighs a staggering 3,541 pounds and is roughly 50 years old.
OCEARCH named her Nukumi for “the legendary wise old grandmother figure” of the Indigenous Mi'kmaq people of Canada.
Nukumi is the largest great white shark the research nonprofit OCEARCH has tagged (OCEARCH)
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Nukumi was returned to the ocean with tags to monitor her whereabouts.
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“With the new data we've collected, this matriarch will share her wisdom with us for years to come,” OCEARCH said. “She will continue to help balance fish stocks in the surrounding waters, and we look forward to learning more from this wise guardian of our ocean's eco-system.”
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