A key to the 'hidden lives’ of sharks found off NC's Outer Banks, researchers say

A mysterious device found bobbing in the ocean off North Carolina’s Outer Banks is giving scientists a glimpse into the “hidden lives” of great white sharks, according to the global shark research agency OCEARCH.

Known as a PSAT, the bulb-shaped tag spent months attached to a 9-foot, 4-inch shark name Jason, collecting details on what the predator did beneath the surface.

It recently “popped off” the 510-pound shark, and was recovered along Cape Lookout, OCEARCH reported in a Jan. 20 Facebook post.

That’s roughly 1,400-miles south from where the tag was attached to the shark, off Canada’s east coast.

“Recovering these PSATs from white sharks tagged in Mahone Bay, Canada, is priceless in terms of the value of the archived high-resolution data to reveal the details of their hidden lives,” shark researcher Dr. Nigel Hussey said in a news release.

The tag is being sent to Hussey’s lab at Tancook Islands Marine Field Station, where a summary of data will be extracted.

It was attached to the shark in July 2025, and spent about six months documenting what it did below the surface. This includes vertical and horizontal movements, depth and temperature preferences, and where it liked to lounge around.

The North Carolina Shark Conservancy led a 12-hour search to find the tag, calling it “a true needle in a haystack.” It was found off Onslow Bay in the Gulf Stream, using satellite tracking, the conservancy said.

“The data will now help scientists better understand white shark behavior and movements along the East Coast,” the conservancy wrote.

A separate tracker tag remains attached to Jason’s dorsal fin, and it shows he has traveled 3,365 miles in 185 days. Jason began lingering off the Carolinas in October and is currently in Onslow Bay, data shows.

This story was originally published January 21, 2026 at 8:40 AM with the headline "A key to the 'hidden lives’ of sharks found off NC's Outer Banks, researchers say."