OCEARCH tags its first female sharks in Nova Scotia (3 photos)

It was a happy Thanksgiving for shark researchers conducting an expedition in Nova Scotia.

The OCEARCH crew had said their “holy grail” hope had been to attach a satellite transmitter to a mature female great white shark.

They suspect there may be a breeding area along the south shore and crews hope if they tag a female that becomes pregnant, they can track her to where she gives birth 18-months from now.

Because great white females don't stay with their babies after giving birth, researchers believe finding the location of their nursery will allow them to better protect young sharks while they're vulnerable.

On Monday, the crew finally accomplished their main goal when they brought the 15-feet long shark aboard their ship and attached a SPOT tag to her fin.

Luna is the second-biggest white tagged by the crew in the North Atlantic and named for the people of Lunenburg, where the crew has been bringing researchers, media and other visitors to and from their vessel.

OCEARCH doesn't expect she is pregnant yet, however they did take a blood sample and are still waiting for official confirmation.

Luna was the third shark tagged on Monday.

Researchers also attached a transmitter to another female white. She is 10 feet long, not yet of breeding age and was named Jane after the captain of the crew's mother.

Because Jane was brought onboard before Luna, she became the first female white shark ever SPOT tagged in Canadian waters.

Near West Ironbound Island, OCEARCH also tagged their 4th male great white of the expedition. The 9' 8″ immature male has been named Cabot in honour of explorer John Cabot.

On Twitter, expedition leader Chris Fischer said when they go to areas where cage diving takes place, it's easier to tag the animals, but it's more difficult in wild conditions.

“This Nova Scotian trip has been the most productive,” he said.

The group has already tagged Nova, Jefferson and Hal. They also were able to take samples from another male which was too small to tag.

“He was 3.2 meters long and we are only allowed to tag sharks 3.5 meters or longer,” OCEARCH said on Facebook.

Once a tagged shark's fin breaks the surface of the ocean for more than 30 seconds, the SPOT transmitter will be detected and its location will be tracked on OCEARCH's website.

Hal has yet to ping, however since being tagged Jefferson has made his way to Massachusetts, being detected east of Cape Cod on Sunday.

Nova hasn't been heard from since Sept. 26 when he was detected near Port Medway.

OCEARCH's expedition was largely inspired by a great white shark named Hilton who was tagged near Hilton Head S.C. in March 2017.

Last summer and early fall, Hilton spent most of his time along Nova Scotia's south shore in the Lunenburg area. 

That great white spent Thanksgiving in Newfoundland pinging near Placentia Bay Monday night.