How big is the largest great white shark ever recorded?

It depends, my friend, on what you mean by «recorded» sizes of any fish species.

The maximum lenght of the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is subject to debate.

One of the problems within the so called «scientific community», is that in all areas of science the old «dinosaurs» experts who made their PhD. with a doctorate thesis in a specific area, will never agree their thesis is wrong, or out dated...

I am saying this because all my life I have been a PhD. professor in three different universities. I know well how things «work» inside the univerisity community about these matters.

Returning to the Carcharodon carcharias, there is a report considered reliable by some experts of a large great white shark specimen from Cuba in 1945. This specimen was 6.4 metres.

Later, a small number of very large great whites have been reported, but scientific community had not accepted such large specimens, on basis of lack of precise measurements made by recognized entities.

Another great white shark was captured near Kangaroo Island, Australia, in 1987. This shark was estimated to be more than 7 meters long by Peter Resiley; several photographs of this specimen are known.

And, of course, there is the world record for a great white, measured 12,7 meters and caught by accident in a drift net in Azores waters in 1976, by a local fishing trawler.

The respected NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY magazine was the first publication to report this specimen. This shark was killed with harpoons, when still entangled in the fishing net side by side with the trawler, and was taken ashore to a small harbour in St. Michael island, Azores.

This monstruous great white, after beeing killed by the fishermen, could not be raised aboard the trawler because it was too large and too heavy.