Great White Shark Spotted Off NJ Coast

A 12-foot great white shark was spotted Sunday in the waters off Island Beach State Park in Berkeley Township, N.J., according to the Berkeley-NJ Patch.

The site says that the US Coast Guard has confirmed that a boater reported seeing the shark about 200 feet off the shore.

Island Beach State Park Superintendent Mark Pitchell told Patch that he wasn't aware of such sightings happening too often.

Great Whites average 15 feet in length, though some have been reported larger than 20 feet and weighing up to 5,000 lbs, according to National Geographic.

The site reports Great Whites are responsible for one-third to one-half of all shark attacks, with most attacks not fatal.

In 2010, the International Shark Attack File registered 79 "unprovoked" shark attacks on humans, the highest number in a decade. The University of Florida-affiliated organization defines unprovoked attacks as incidents where the attack on a human occurs in a shark's national habitat.

A dead 29-foot female humpback whale washed up in the same N.J. park last week.

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