Follow the sharks passing by New Jersey

Jane. Singles You Up. Hal.

Those are the names of just some of the white sharks currently or recently swimming off New Jersey's coast, and being tracked in an effort to improve the population of large sharks worldwide.

New Jersey's shore plays a major role in the future of sharks, according to the group responsible for the tracking of these majestic creatures.

OCEARCH, a nonprofit devoted to ocean abundance and the recovery of the large-shark population, has been tracking sharks for years, including Mary Lee, the frequent Jersey visitor whose tag ran out of juice in June 2017.

"There's been a number of sharks that have loved New Jersey over the years," said founding chairman and expedition leader Chris Fischer. "None of them stay here year-round."

Many white sharks move through New Jersey's waters on their way north in the spring and summer, and on their way south in the fall and early winter.

"Right now there's sharks passing through Jersey, dropping down from the Canada and Cape Cod-Nantucket regions," Fischer said.

Among them is Jane, a 10-foot, 521-pound sub-adult, the first female white shark ever SPOT tagged in Canadian waters, according to OCEARCH.

New Jersey's waters are also a critical component in the early lives of white sharks, Fischer added.

"It's where all the baby white sharks are born. It's where they grow up. It's where they spend the summers and falls in the first several years of their lives," he said. "If we get it right in New Jersey and the baby sharks are able to grow up, then the ocean is going to be balanced and full of fish for the future."