The great whites have satellite tags and are tracked by OCEARCH, giving a new perspective on the movements of the sharks known as "the lions of the deep."

WILMINGTON --Cisco and George, two male great white sharks tagged by shark research nonprofit OCEARCH are currently swimming off New Hanover County beaches.

Satellite tags attached to the sharks allow researchers and the public to follow their movements along the East Coast, either on the OCEARCH website or with the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app. Acoustic tags attached to the sharks or surgically implanted send signals to stationary receivers as the sharks swim along the coast.

"We are in the early stages of being able to track these large white sharks in history," said OCEARCH Founding Chairman Chris Fischer. "We're all watching them show us what is normal right now."

Cisco an immature shark coming in at 8 feet, 7 inches long and weighing 362 pounds. In 2016 he was tagged by OCEARCH in Nantucket, Mass. As of Tuesday, his satellite tag showed he was off the coast of Wrightsville Beach.

George, a mature shark is 9 feet, 10 inches long and weighs 702 pounds. He and Cisco were tagged by OCEARCH on the same day and location. As of Wednesday, he pinged off the coast of Kure Beach. Fischer said George is the first mature male white shark SPOT tagged in North Atlantic history.

Further down off the coast, off of McClellanville, S.C., is Hilton, a mature male great white weighing 1,326 pounds and 12 feet, 5 inches long.

"We have only three large males tagged and a total of 23 sharks in the North Atlantic, and all three of them right now are in your region," Fischer said Friday.

It is not a coincidence that the males are in the area.

"We do know that over the course of the year the male white sharks and the female white sharks live separate lives," Fischer said. "They only come together to where they mate. We believe that's farther north."

Cisco, George and Hilton are likely in the area feeding before they head north as the water warms during the summer.

"They clearly like it there. There must be a lot of food, which means you have a really healthy abundant system," Fischer said. "It's a great tribute to the management that is going on in that region that you've got three male white sharks nearby."

Cisco, George and Hilton also have their own Twitter handles and are followed by thousands on the social media platform.

Reporter Elizabeth Montgomery can be reached at 910-343-2066 or Elizabeth.Montgomery@StarNewsOnline.com.

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