Great white shark pings from St. George Island, Florida as it moves north

On Monday, a great white shark measuring over 10 feet showed up off the coast of St. George Island.

Tagged by the nonprofit research group OCEARCH, the shark’s pings show it spent the winter around Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico, traveling as far west in the Gulf as Louisiana.

A ping means that the satellite tag attached to the shark’s dorsal fin has surfaced long enough to send location information to trackers.

The male shark, nicknamed Keji by OCEARCH, pinged far off St. George Island at 12:07 p.m., having previously pinged Port Fourchon, Louisiana, on April 11.

According to his tracker, Keji arrived in Florida in November, first southeast of St. Augustine on November 30, then near the Florida Keys on December 13, off the coast of Marco Island on February 4 and 16, and Panama City Beach. Mar. 15.

North Atlantic white sharks are known to migrate south from the waters around New England and Canada during the winter in search of warmer waters and more abundant food sources.

Keji appears to have begun its journey north to return to the waters off Nova Scotia, a journey the animal is making for the third time since it was tagged off Ironbound Island in September 2021.

Here’s what you need to know about Keji, the nonprofit OCEARCH, and great white sharks in Florida:

More about OCEARCH great white shark Keji

Keji was tagged by OCEARCH near Ironbound Island Nova Scotia on September 22, 2021. At the time, the male juvenile white shark was 9 feet 7 inches long and weighed 578 pounds.

Great white sharks can grow up to 6 meters in length, but most are smaller: adult females average 15 to 16 meters in length and males 3 to 4 meters in length.

According to OCEARCH, Keji was named after the Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site in the region where he was tagged.

What does OCEARCH do?

OCEARCH is a non-profit research organization that studies the giants of the ocean.

The group studies great white sharks and other important species essential to the health of the oceans.

OCEARCH was scheduled to launch its 47th expedition on April 1 but canceled it due to delays in the repair and maintenance of its research vessel M/V OCEARCH, according to a report message on Xformerly Twitter.

During previous expeditions, researchers collected previously unobtainable data on the animals’ migrations, reproductive cycles, genetic status, diet, abundance and more.

“If we lose the apex predator (sharks), we will lose all our fish and there will be no more fish sandwiches for our grandchildren,” OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer told USA TODAY Network’s The Courier-Journal. “That’s oversimplified, of course, but the idea is important because many shark species are threatened by overfishing and a demand for shark fins in Asia. Their declining numbers are endangering ocean habitats.”

OCEARCH shark tracker: One shark ‘drew’ a shark portrait

OCEARCH provides an online map that tracks the tagged shark’s travels.

Each animal has a Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting Tag (SPOT) tag on its dorsal fin, which emits a ping when it breaks the water’s surface for a short time and sends location information to trackers.

The most notable tracker page is of a 13-foot, 3-inch white shark nicknamed Breton. The 1,437-kilogram shark pings from September 2020 to January 2022 connect to show what appears to be the outline of a colossal shark, with the tail in Nova Scotia, the body over the east coast and the head pointing toward the east coast of Florida.

How many sharks has OCEARCH tagged?

According to the tracker, OCEARCH has tagged 371 sharks, including 123 great white sharks.

123 great white sharks
144 tiger sharks
9 blacktip sharks
29 shortfin mako sharks
25 blue sharks
18 hammerhead sharks
6 silky sharks
6 bull sharks
8 whale sharks
3 great hammerhead sharks

The group also tagged alligators, dolphins, seals, swordfish and turtles.

Great white sharks in Florida?

Yes. Great white sharks migrate south as waters turn cold and food sources in the north become scarce, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.

Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.

Most of them tend to stay away from beaches in continental shelf waters, Hueter said.

There were 69 documented unprovoked shark attacks worldwide in 2023. The US led the world with 36 attacks and Florida was again the state with the most bites (16).

Shark Attacks in Florida by County:

While the US has the most attacks, South Africa has the most shark-related fatalities.

According to data from floridapanhandle.com, there have been 1,230 shark bites worldwide in the past 47 years, with great white sharks considered the best biters. However, according to Shark Attack File, no great white shark has been identified in a shark bite in Florida from 1926 to the present.

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More about OCEARCH great white shark Keji

What does OCEARCH do?

OCEARCH shark tracker: One shark ‘drew’ a shark portrait

How many sharks has OCEARCH tagged?

Great white sharks in Florida?

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