Nicole

On 7 November 2003 a female 3.8-metre Great White Shark was tagged near Dyer Island in South Africa. On 28 February 2004, her tag released itself 37 km south of the Exmouth Gulf in Western Australia. The shark, which would later be named Nicole after shark enthusiast Nicole Kidman, had swum an epic 11,000 km on her transoceanic journey, and prompted a rewrite of the life history of these powerful apex predators. Scientists were even more surprised when she was positively identified back in South Africa near Dyer Island in August 2004 – meaning she had covered 22,000 km in less than nine months, using pinpoint navigation both ways.

Many tagged Great Whites have since been shown to have undertaken long journeys; but Nicole's was the first recorded there-and-back ocean migration.

Sharks are among the most persecuted animals on Earth. Nicole's block-buster story interweaves actual events and the efforts of intrepid scientists with conjecture as to what might have happened on the shark's journey. It is hoped this account of the world's most famous Great White Shark will put into perspective, and promote awareness of, the plight of sharks.