The longest journey previously known to be taken by a great white shark was by a female named Nicole, who famously swam from Gansbaai, South Africa, to Western Australia—covering around 9,000 km across the Indian Ocean before returning.

But a new discovery has now shattered that record, revealing an even longer transoceanic voyage.

In May 2012, a subadult female great white shark named Alisha was satellite-tagged by OCEARCH researchers just off Dyer Island in Gansbaai, South Africa. Over the next two years, Alisha’s satellite tag revealed she was a true ocean traveler, covering over 38,000 km throughout the southwest Indian Ocean.

Her path included South Africa’s coastline and extended through Mozambique and Madagascar. The last transmission from her tag was received in April 2014, about 1,000 km southeast of Madagascar.

The tag’s battery then died, and Alisha’s whereabouts became a mystery.

That is, until May 2024.

Ten years later, a local Indonesian fisher handed over a satellite tag to Project Hiu, a conservation organization working to reduce shark mortality in Indonesian fisheries.

Through the serial number and collaborations with Wildlife Computers, the tag was traced back to Alisha.

Tragically, she had been caught and killed in November 2016 by an Indonesian longliner targeting tuna. Alisha had been scavenging a bull shark on a baited hook when she herself became bycatch.

Initially, Alisha was misidentified as a longfin mako shark, and while the fishers attempted to report the tag, the communication trail was lost.

It was only the financial incentive and conservation partnership offered by Project Hiu that finally led to the recovery of this vital scientific equipment.

From her last known location southeast of Madagascar to her eventual capture near Lombok, Indonesia, Alisha covered a straight-line distance of more than 10,000 km—making this the longest confirmed one-way transoceanic movement ever recorded for a white shark.

This new record expands our understanding of the connectivity between southern African and Southeast Asian white shark populations.

Beyond the extraordinary distance, Alisha’s journey underscores several key conservation concerns.

The misidentification of protected species in longline fisheries likely results in underreported bycatch and points to potential illegal trade of white shark products.

It also reinforces the importance of engaging local fishing communities in research and species protection efforts.

Alisha’s journey was not just a record-breaking migration—it was a stark reminder of the dangers sharks face in international waters.

Her story, recovered through international collaboration and grassroots conservation, highlights the critical need for improved species identification, better data collection, and continued investment in tagging.

As white sharks navigate across oceans, their protection must also cross borders.

This discovery gives us not only new insights into the movements of great white sharks, but also an opportunity—to do better for them.