Tancook Islands Marine Field Station

08/19/2026

The SPOT satellite tags are performing exceptionally well. In the last 6 days, 19 of the white sharks tagged by the Tancook Team at Cross Island, Nova Scotia, Canada have pinged in including our newcomers, Ozzy (NW of the Magdalen Islands), Richard (S of Canso) and Timmy [SE of Trepassy]. Currently two white sharks are around Newfoundland including Ozzy and a (new) juvenile female off from Gull Island Lighthouse of the NE coast, while Webster is S of Henley Harbour off the coast of Labrador and another newly tagged juvenile female is further S on the border of Labrador/Quebec. Six sharks are moving throughout the Gulf of St Lawrence with Brookes the farthest east in the entrance area of the St Lawrence River and nine white sharks are cruising the coastline of Nova Scotia from Cape Breton to the South Shore. These tagged animals are now revealing detailed insights in to white shark movement behaviour in Atlantic Canada waters.

All research conducted under SARA permit -MAR-NL-2026-16b

08/18/2026

Our newest tagged shark carries a name with real roots in our local waters: Timmy, in honour of Timmy Spidle, who passed away in October 2025. Timmy is the third shark we encountered in our July fieldwork and is a juvenile male measuring 8ft 12"

We name our tagged sharks for a reason. Every tag tells a story of movement, of waters an animal returns to again and again. It felt fitting to give this one a name belonging to someone who spent his life doing the same. Timmy Spidle was a lifelong boater and waterskier on Mahone Bay, who started welding on the Lunenburg waterfront as a teen and went on to work ships around the world. Wherever the sea took him, Lunenburg County and Mahone Bay stayed home, including from 2014 on, when he settled on Big Tancook Island with his youngest son (Corey Spidle).

We're pleased to honour an important Tancook Islands resident this way, and you can follow Timmy's journey for seasons to come on our ‘Tracks’ page.
https://www.tancookfieldstation.com/tracks

Timmy has already made quite the journey visiting the entire southern coast of Newfoundland! Here we show you the new high resolution Kineis satellite data that we use for our scientific analysis of the data to inform conservation and management.

Research conducted under SARA permit -MAR-NL-2026-16b

08/14/2026

08/10/2026

We are excited to announce that the second white shark (a mature male measuring 12ft 3”) we encountered and tagged during our July fieldwork is named Richard. Richard Hussey, the brother of Nigel Hussey (Co-Director of TIMFS) underwent a full lung transplant earlier this year. It’s been a long hard journey pulling through the operation and now the recovery phase, but Richard is a fighter and determined to march on no matter the challenges faced. Richard has certainly been moving since our encounter, with Kineis satellite data showing him heading round into the Bay of Fundy.

We’d also like to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to the fabulous medical team at Hospital Reina Sofia de Córdoba (CCOO Hospital Reina) for their incredible commitment on a daily basis to performing these lifesaving surgeries.

Follow Richard on our ’Tracks’ Page via our website: https://www.tancookfieldstation.com/tracks

Research undertaken under SARA permit -MAR-NL-2026-16b

08/09/2026

Our 2026 t-shirts and hoodies are now available from Wishing Stones Studio & Gallery - 100% of the proceeds fund activities at the field station!!! Help support Nova Scotia white shark research and another great reason to visit the fabulous Big Tancook Island.

08/07/2026

🦈 NOT EVERY SHARK FOLLOWS THE SAME PATH

Baker's unique movements offshore are giving scientists a closer look at how individual sharks use different habitats throughout the North Atlantic.

"Baker may not be visiting the Southeast Shoal by chance. His return in consecutive summers suggests this seasonal hotspot may be an important foraging area for at least some adult white sharks," says OCEARCH Senior Data Scientist John Tyminski.

Love shark science? Donate for a chance to meet the OCEARCH team and win exclusive OCEARCH, Costa, and YETI gear. Every donation supports critical shark research.

➡️ Enter at MeetAShark.com

Baker was tagged by Tancook Islands Marine Field Station in collaboration with OCEARCH.

08/05/2026

A window into the world of white sharks in Nova Scotia today from the Kineis satellite data. This includes the nine new sharks Team Tancook tagged over the past 2 weeks in addition to animals we tagged last year. You’ll see some symbols are manta rays.....we’re working to correct this. We can guarantee they are all white sharks! We’re excited to introduce you to the remaining eight sharks (not forgetting Ozzy of course, the first animal we met), over the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned 🦈🦈🦈🦈 and watch the tracks page on our website for updated animals;
https://www.tancookfieldstation.com/tracks

08/02/2026

Features science underpinning the movement ecology of white sharks in Atlantic Canada by the Tancook Team in collaboration with Dr Greg Skomal (Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries) and Dr Fred Whoriskey (Ocean Tracking Network).

07/30/2026

Ozzy - released two days before the anniversary of Ozzy Osbourne passing. Go Ozzy.....🦈🦇🦈🦇🦈

You can track Ozzy’s journey here on our website:
https://www.tancookfieldstation.com/tracks?pgid=mr7ng9zu-9b24b6f3-26de-4905-a988-475552e0354d

And Mercury (Mercury Marine Mercury Marine Canada) - Ozzy approved.

Research via SARA permit -MAR-NL-2026-16b

07/30/2026

Our first shark tagged during July 2026 fieldwork was a true showman, making multiple passes at the surface by the boat when he first arrived, spy hopping to see who the team were, and mouthing the Mercury engines (Mercury Marine Mercury Marine Canada) to check they were in good shape. There is only one name appropriate for this mature 13ft 3” male white shark.......... Ozzy. This white shark is named in honour of the pioneer and godfather of heavy metal music, ‘The Prince of Darkness’, the ultimate showman, Ozzy Osbourne. Rest in peace, you will never be forgotten, and your spirit now traverses the open ocean.

Follow Ozzy on our ’Tracks’ page: https://www.tancookfieldstation.com, but here’s a sneak preview of the next generation, high resolution tracks that we can now generate using the SPOT satellite tag on the dorsal fin and the new Kineis satellite system for tracking global animals.

All research is undertaken under SARA permit -MAR-NL-2026-16b