Great White Shark Gurney Pays Visit To Gardiners Bay

EAST HAMPTON, NY — In honor of International Whale Shark Day, one of the great white shark pups tagged off the coast of Montauk this summer made an appearance in Gardiners Bay in East Hampton on Tuesday.

Gurney, a 4', 61 lb. great white pup, pinged in the Gardiners Bay area, hanging with the tony Hamptons crowd and enjoying the last days of summer on the East End.

Gurney was tagged off Montauk on Aug. 11, along with many others discovered during an OCEARCH expedition that ended last week.

During the OCEARCH expedition, pings a'plenty were recorded, with a bevy baby great white sharks including Gurney, Mission, Finn, JD, Amagansett, Montauk, and Bruin tagged and pinging, as well as blue shark Azul.

According to Chris Fischer, founder of OCEARCH, Gurney was found in the waters off the coast of Gurney's, hence the apt moniker.

The two joined Finn, another new juvenile great white shark seen just off the coast of the Hamptons.

The 5-foot, 79-pound white shark pup has been dubbed "Finn The Great White" or @GreatWhiteFinn by Ocearch, and has pinged at least three times since Monday in locations off Southampton and East Hampton, researchers say.

To track the sharks' path in real time, click here.

OCEARCH and its team of scientists held their second expedition in New York waters this August.

“We've learned a lot about the adult sharks in recent years, but the pups are still a complete mystery,” said Tobey Curtis, lead scientist and fisheries manager at NOAA Fisheries. “Tagging these baby white sharks will help us better understand how essential Long Island waters are for their survival.”

“The presence of these apex predators is a good sign of the ecological health of our local ocean,” Curtis said.

As the sharks' fins breaks the surface, their satellite tags will transmit their location, allowing anyone to follow their movements by accessing the near-real time, free online Global Shark Tracker or by downloading the Global Shark Tracker App available for Apple and Android platforms on the OCEARCH website.

Since their release, scores have been following the pups on Twitter, with Gurney, @Gurney_Shark, and Finn @GreatWhiteFinn captivating their audience and helping to teach about the natural environment and dispel "Jaws" inspired fears about sharks to the public.

"This is great as we continue to take the steps to reveal the great white shark pupping ground,” said Fischer, also the OCEARCH expedition leader. “It's this kind of scientific data that will help us collectively
make more informed decisions about how to protect this incredible species."

The discovery of the pups just confirms that last year's discovery and tagging of 9 pups meant the possibility of a birthing and nursery area off Montauk, Fischer said.

What's critical is that the discovery of the pups means there is "predictable access" at the site, Fischer said.

He added, "We can lean on this region and we will solve the puzzle of the first couple of years of the white shark's life, which is essential."

To read a full Patch report on the first shark pup tagging last year, click here.

Photos, video courtesy of OCEARCH.