9-Foot Shark Surfaces Off The Coast Of Ocean County

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ — A nine-foot great white shark was recently spotted off the coast of the Barnegat Peninsula in Ocean County.

"Simon," as he was named by shark tracker organization OCEARCH, was pinged several times on April 30 off the coast around Island Beach State Park, according to researchers.

The pings mean that the 434 pound juvenile white shark actually broke the surface of the water, according to OCEARCH.

The next day, he pinged further north near Long Branch and as of Tuesday morning was up in New York relatively close to the coastline of Fire Island, OCEARCH data shows. Track his current location here.

Simon (named for St. Simon's Island in Georgia, where he was first found) follows Hali, a great white shark who pinged off the coast of Long Beach Island in April. Read more: Great White Shark Pinged Near Jersey Shore, Researchers Say

OCEARCH experts are currently tracking the migration of white sharks like Simon as they head north for the summer.

Many white sharks spend time in the area of Outer Banks, North Carolina, before they go north, ad researchers hope to find out when and where they mate.

"Before they go, we seek to study the sharks' condition after their winter south, and in particular, the reproductive state of the adult sharks," OCEARCH Chief Scientist Dr. Bob Hueter said.

According to OCEARCH, this Western North Atlantic White Shark Study is the most comprehensive study of white sharks in the world.