It’s Been A Year Since Celebrity Shark Mary Lee Was Spotted
Mary Lee has become the most famous shark in New Jersey over the last 3 years, with fans tracking her every move, from her southern swings as far away as the waters of the Caribbean, to treks as far north as between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia, she's of course best known for frequenting her familiar stomping grounds off our Monmouth and Ocean County beaches (do sharks stomp?).
But it's now been a year since she was last spotted. Does her radio silence mean that we've seen the last of Jersey's most beloved alpha-predator?
Back in December multiple media outlets reported that Mary Lee's radio signal hadn't been picked up for months, and OCEARCH, the organization tracking Mary Lee and dozens of other sharks, tweeted about the situation at the end of last year:
It's been almost 6 months since those reports, and as of this month, it's now been a year since Mary Lee was last spotted right off the Beach Haven coast on June 17, 2017.
Now, this doesn't necessarily mean doom for our finned friend.
It's been 6 years since Mary Lee was first tagged in the waters off Cape Cod.. And hey, if I can get 6 hours of battery life out of my iPhone I'm a happy camper!
So it's very possible, and even pretty likely, that the transmitter's battery just ran out of juice.
In the meantime, there are still plenty of sharks who frequent our Ocean County waters that you can keep an eye on, like Miss Costa, who has been spotted as recently as only about two weeks ago.
And if Mary Lee shows back up, you can bet we'll be right on it to welcome her back!
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