Meanwhile in New Jersey: 1,000 Pound Shark Circling Jersey Shore, That or Really Big Drunk Leftover From Cinco de Mayo

Something’s fishy on the Jersey Shore. And we’re not talking about Snooki. No, there’s a huge Great White Shark circling the New Jersey waters, and it’s freaking people out. Measuring 12 feet, 4 inches long, and weighing in at 998 pounds, it makes Jaws look like a runt.

The shark is so infamous, it’s earned a moniker: Ironbound, named after the West Ironbound Island near Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, the place it reportedly originated.

OCEARCH, a nonprofit marine research group, has been tracking the massive sea creature. It tagged Ironbound on October 3, 2019, and has been following its movements ever since. Apparently, this 20-year-old shark is on the move. It swam approximately 13,000 miles already, traveling back and forth between Nova Scotia and the Florida Keys.

Where is Ironbound headed next? Likely towards the Northeastern edge of the U.S. and even as far as Canada.

“Mating season is over, we think, and Ironbound is on his way north to get into some good feeding ground and bulk up again for the next year,” Bob Hueter, chief scientist at OCEARCH, told CNN.

Great White Sharks aren’t just fun for action movie fodder, clearing beaches, and scaring the shit out of people. They’re actually an essential player in healthy marine ecosystems.

“Sharks have been around for about 400 million years,” Hueter said. “They in many cases occupy what’s called the apex predator position, in marine food webs. Just like on land, that is an important role in terms of keeping the lower parts of the food web healthy and balanced.”

That’s all well and good and probably makes Mother Earth very happy. We have to wonder, though: are we truly sure this was a shark sighting and not some blubbery American who fell into the water after too much Cinco de Mayo cerveza? We have our doubts…

Cover Photo: OCEARCH