Great White Shark Tracked In Oregon’s Tillamook Bay

It looks like commercial anglers and recreationists on the waters of Oregon’s Tillamook Bay might need a bigger boat.

Last Friday (Jan. 30), marine biologists reported the presence of a Great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) off the shores of the small inlet along the north central Pacific Coast of the Beaver State.

The scientists who made the announcement are with the Marine Conservation Science Institute, a non-profit group dedicated to protecting, preserving, and raising awareness about ocean species.

The big fish was identified using the organization’s Expedition White Shark app, which lets users track the movements and locations of numerous great whites that biologists have outfitted with custom satellite tags attached to their dorsal fins.

Although the shark was detected by administrators and app users alike in and around the mouth of the Bay near the towns of Barview and Garibaldi, there have been no visual sightings reported in the area.

Scientists say that while great whites are not uncommon in the coastal waters of Oregon, a vast majority of them are reported much further south near the California border, so to track one this far north is quite unusual.

Naturally, the tracking device affixed to the shark isn’t able to read fishy minds, so biologists can’t say why it chose – even instinctively, to swim hundreds of miles from where many of its fellow great whites more typically reside.

The prevailing scientific theory as to why the shark strayed so far from its usual waters is that it was searching for prey in alternative locations. Nevertheless, there are those who remain dedicated to a handful of other more-conspiratorial suppositions suggesting the shark had a sudden craving for cheese or got crossed up looking for Amity Island.

Whatever the case, the tracking system’s recent ping undoubtedly has some residents of the towns surrounding Tillamook Bay looking up puncture-proof floaties to buy online and wondering if it’s indeed safe to keep going back into the water.