One of the tags will provide scientists with near real-time data about his travels for about eight months, and another that will collect detailed information on his movements for the next five months.

"We've again learned some new things about caring for white sharks, and we expect he'll do well after release, just as our first two sharks did," Randy Hamilton, vice president of husbandry for the aquarium, said in a statement. "We were concerned that he was getting a little too frisky or his own good," Hamilton said. "Since there was a risk of injury if he remained on exhibit, we took it as a signal that it was time to release him."

The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the only aquarium ever to keep the ocean's top predator for more than 16 days. The most recent great white guest was on exhibit in the aquarium's million-gallon Outer Bay exhibit for 152 days and was seen by more than 650,000 people, according to aquarium officials.

When the shark first arrived Aug. 28, 2007 - it was caught accidentally on Aug. off Ventura by a commercial fisherman - it measured 4 feet, 9 inches and weighed 67 pounds. Before its release, the shark had grown to 5 feet 10 and 140 pounds, and was recently seen leaping into the air above the Outer Bay exhibit, Hamilton said.

The first shark in Monterey, a female, was at the aquarium for 198 days in 2004-2005. The second shark, a male, was on exhibit for 137 days.