The arrival of Webster the great white shark is a sign of a healing ocean off Newfoundland and Labrador, according to a research company tracking the creatures across the Atlantic.
Several great white sharks have been spotted off Newfoundland in recent years, according to Ocearch founder Chris Fischer. Ocearch is a global non-profit that help scientists study sharks.
Webster, a 12-foot shark weighing just over 1,000 pounds, has been swimming around the northern peninsula of Newfoundland this summer — mostly hanging out around beaches in the Cow Head area.
“We’ve seen them all the way up to the very northern end of Newfoundland, up very, very far north,” Fischer told CBC News from Florida in a recent interview. “We’re seeing these white sharks return to the same places and the same seal haul-outs each season, year-over-year, for food.”
Two other great whites, named Dold and Monomoy, have also been photographed and tracked around Newfoundland over the years.
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While the presence of great whites could be scary to some, Fischer says it’s a very positive development.
The population of great white sharks was nearly decimated from the 1970s to around the 1990s, he said. Only around nine per cent of the global population remained before efforts were made to protect the remaining population.
Having sharks in the region is a good sign for local fisheries, he said, as sharks instinctively put pressure on seals and ultimately protect fish stocks.
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“Newfoundland is supposed to be surrounded by white sharks putting pressure on seals. It’s just that we wiped out the ocean so much, none of us have seen it. And now the ocean is returning to abundance, and we are in the midst of this wonderful experience,” Fischer said.
“When you’re seeing white sharks around Newfoundland, that means your fisheries management program is succeeding … These are the lions of the ocean.”
Caroline Miri, a marine biologist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, said sharks play a key role at the top of the marine food chain.
“They’re very important to the health and stability of our oceans and marine ecosystems because these sharks help keep in check some populations of invasive species, and they also control competing fish species lower down on the food chain,” Miri told The Broadcast earlier this month.
Fischer said Ocearch has tagged around 115 sharks across the Atlantic from Florida to Newfoundland and Labrador.
Webster was first tagged in September 2025 in Nova Scotia, according to Ocearch’s shark tracker, and was last pinged on Aug. 7 off Cow Head.
And are sharks like Webster something to be scared about? As long as you’re safe, Fischer says no.
“I wouldn’t worry about it all. I’d go down and enjoy the water, but I’d be smart about it.”
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