Great White Shark Back In New Jersey Coastal Waters

A 3,400-pound great white shark is once again making the rounds just a few miles off the coast of New Jersey.

The shark -- named Mary Lee -- was just a few miles off the Jersey Shore on Wednesday, sending out a “ping” off at 9:19 a.m. Thursday, according to information reported on the OCEARCH Shark Tracker.

The shark is one of more than 100 sharks around the world being tracked by OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization dedicated to shark research.

OCEARCH noted on its Twitter account that the “ping” was sensed in the Manhahawkin Bay, was the shark was most likely in the Atlantic Ocean off Long Beach Island, heading north.

• OCEARCH ‏@OCEARCH 2h2 hours ago.@ChipperWilliams As you can see from @MaryLeeShark‘s full track, she swims close to the shoreline. #SharkTracker

Earlier this year, the shark made a Mother’s Day Visit to the Seaside Heights and Lavallette area, swimming within 2 miles of the shoreline. The shark also swam in the Ocean City area; on Thursday, it returned to Ocean County.

Mary Lee is 3,456 pounds and 16 feet long, and has traveled almost 20,000 miles since she was first tagged off Cape Cod in September 2012, according to OCEARCH.

Great whites, made famous by the movie “Jaws,” are the world’s largest predatory fish, according to Discovery. They grow to be about 15 to 20 feet or more and can weigh more than 5,000 pounds. Though they are sometimes portrayed as man-eaters, these animals are responsible for just five to 10 attacks per year, according to the BBC.

Great whites are not uncommon to the Jersey Shore, where sitings are reported, primarily by fishermen, nearly every summer.

The purpose of the OCEARCH tagging is to help scientists gather data about various sharks. Its projects use SPOT tags -- Smart Position and Temperature, which are the only devices capable of real-time tracking of fine and broad scale movement, anywhere in the world, according to the organization.

“SPOT tag data enables the identification of critical areas for highly migratory species such as white sharks, including feeding, breeding and nursery areas, migratory pathways and coastal areas where human/shark interaction is possible.”