20-Foot Great White Spotted Off Nova Scotia as Shark Encounters Surge 1,000%

One of the largest great white sharks ever recorded in the North Atlantic, which goes by the name "Big Rose," was recently spotted by researchers. Find out where this monster whale is roaming and how scientists confirmed her massive measurements.

Expedition Team Sets Off to Locate Mysterious Great White Shark

A group of shark experts is keeping close tabs on a great white shark they have dubbed Big Rose, a three-ton female that has been swimming in waters near Mud Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The remote island is home to a cluster of great whites that measure up to 20 feet long.

Big Rose is certainly going to rise to notoriety as Discovery's Shark Week kicked off on Sunday, shining the spotlight on this mysterious animal. An expedition of scientists set off to Mud Island to try to determine why great white encounters have surged as much as 1000% in the last decade in a zone between Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Nova Scotia.

Shark researcher Dr. Neil Hammerschlag was the first person to observe Big Rose last year. The scientist returned for Shark Week in an attempt to locate and tag the mammoth whale. The team dropped a cage with bait into the water in an attempt to lure the sharks close enough to identify and tag them.

While several of the predators came up to the surface, there was no sign of Big Rose. Hammerschlag made the gutsy decision to get into a small inflatable boat to get closer to the sharks. Armed with a gun equipped with tracking tags, Hammerschlag was able to tag four of the sharks. The tags now allow the scientists to observe the sharks and their movements.

These trackers indicated that all four of the sharks had migrated to the other side of Mud Island by the next morning, signaling that Big Rose might also be near. The researchers moved their expedition to this area but were left disappointed when the ocean was eerily empty.

Underwater cameras showed that the sharks were swimming at depths well below the expedition vessel. The team leaned on a custom cage engineered to descend deeper than the original cage. It was there, 50 feet below the surface, that the scientists were finally able to spot Big Rose. It took a 50-pound piece of bluefin tuna to lure Big Rose out of hiding

The measurements recorded that day confirmed that Big Rose stretches about 20 feet long and six feet across. The team believes that Big Rose is over 50 years old, making her one of the oldest species in the North Atlantic.

Unfortunately for the excited researchers, Big Rose glided back into the depths of the ocean and did not return. However, her appearance at this specific location confirms that Mud Island is indeed an attractive home for these great white sharks.