Is this the world's fattest great white shark?

A contender for the world's fattest great white shark has been caught and tagged by researchers at Ocearch.

The enormous two-tonne shark was tagged just off the east coast of America by Brett McBride and his team, who work to study and protect the species.

See also: The world's worst shark attacks

According to the Daily Mail, Mr McBride said: "The reason we are tagging the great white shark is because there is almost nothing known about them, we don't know where they breed, we don't know where they give birth, if you don't know where they breed and give birth then how do you protect those sites."

Another reason for the process is to collect data to present to policy makers as a deterrent of shark finning, which kills 73 million sharks a year.

The team hoists the creatures onto an overwater platform for a maximum of 15 minutes, and in that time they attach a GPS tag to its fin and, if possible, take a blood sample and do a quick ultrasound.

The shark is then lowered on the platform back into the water, and being tagged, can then offer information on breeding and migration habits.

This particular shark has competition for the world's fattest, however.

Back in June, a video emerged online of a cage diver 'high-fiving' an enormous 20ft great white, which was wide as well as long.

According to Grind TV, the shark, nicknamed Deep Blue, is thought to be around 50 years old, and was caught on camera during a tagging process in Mexico's Guadalupe Island.

Local researcher Mauricio Hoyos Padilla posted the footage on Facebook and wrote: "I give you the biggest white shark ever seen in front of the cages in Guadalupe Island... DEEP BLUE!!!."

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