As a South Carolina resident who has vacationed on Hilton Head Island before, it is absolutely mortifying to know that giants like these exist just off the coast of my home state.
According to Boston.com, researchers at the Atlantic White Conservancy on Cape Cod sent Staff Scientist Megan Winton to Hilton Head Island, SC to place a camera tag on a MASSIVE 14-foot long, 2,800 pound great white shark named LeeBeth.
Alongside Chip Michalove, a fishing guide with Outcast Sport Fishing, and three other people, they set out on December 8th when they caught and tagged the shark…
And boy, this female looks straight out of Jaws.
Michalove wrote in a Facebook post:
“2800 pound Great White Shark ‘LeeBeth’ caught and tagged yesterday off Hilton Head, SC. Pastor Ed Young, EJ Young, and Dave Clark battled this girl flawlessly to boatside. Usually, the first few white sharks of the season are small ones, but we started the season with the largest we’ve landed in years.
Covered in scars from chewing on seals, she swam off with a satellite spot tag that you’ll be able to track on the Sharktivity app, a psat tag that’ll detach in 8 months, and THE FIRST CAMERA TAG EVER PUT ON A SHARK IN SC. This cam tag is recording her daily routine and will detach shortly. Megan Winton from Atlantic White Shark Conservancy came all the way from Cape Cod to attach it.
We named this shark after LeeBeth Young, who lost her life 2 years ago at age 34. She absolutely loved shark fishing and was definitely watching her dad, brother, and family friend catch and satellite tag a true lifetime fish. Amazing start to the winter.”
14-feet, 2,800 pounds is so hard to even wrap your head around. And here’s the thing… it’s not even THAT big of a great white shark.
The largest mature female great whites can get up over 18 feet in length and clock in over 4,000 pounds. Yes, significantly larger than this unit from South Carolina. Females typically average about 15 feet in length and 2,200 pounds, while mature male great white sharks come in smaller at about 12ft and weigh up to 1,500 pounds on average.
Nevertheless, I’d say this was a special trip for everyone who was involved.
Look at this monster:
