Huge 16ft great white shark spotted off coast of New York

A large 16ft great white shark called Mary Lee has been tracked off the coast of New Jersey in New York.

A tracker was put on Mary Lee in Cape Cod in September 2012, which allowed conservation group Ocearch to locate her each time her dorsal fin surfaces or "pings".

She has travelled around 20,000 miles since she was tagged in Massachusetts, which was the setting of the movie Jaws, and she has spent the last few months swimming up America's East Coast from Florida.

The latest "pings" placed her in the waters off the Island Beach State Park in New Jersey.

According to the Daily Mail, Chris Fisher, founder of OCEARCH, told CBS Radio station 1010 WINS: "I think the most exciting thing about what's going on with her moving northbound across Jersey right now is that she is just about to complete the first documented three-year full migratory loop of a North Atlantic white shark.

'"In that full migratory pattern is the mating site, the birthing site, and her full migratory range."

Marine biologist Bryan Frazier, who works at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and joined OCEARCH to track tiger sharks off the coast of the Carolinas, told nj.com that Mary Lee should not be feared.

He said: "We know that [great white sharks] take advantage of shallow waters.

"This is one of the few great white sharks in the Atlantic that has been tagged and they are constantly coming close to shore without interacting with humans.

"I think it's more awe-inspiring than something to fear."

Ocearch says tagging enables scientists to track and research dozens of sharks around the world, which anyone can follow on its shark tracker online.

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