Several great white sharks have been spotted on Florida beaches. The sightings of the marine mammals in the area happen just in time for spring.
Great White Shark Sightings in Florida
A 10-foot and 3-inch shark named Penny was tracked off the coast of Fort Myers Beach in Florida on Sunday (March 17) at 11 a.m. OCEARCH first tagged Penny in Ocracoke, North Carolina, on April 23, 2023.
Penny is a member of a population of great white sharks that travel north to Canada in the summer and south down the East Coast to Florida in the winter.
Over the previous few months, more great white sharks have been observed in the waters. Great Whites move alone and seldom in groups, although because of their migration patterns, it's not unusual for several of them to be in one location at once.
On March 18, a 10-foot, 5-inch shark named Rose was located west of the state. Additionally, a 12-foot male shark named Scot was also located off the southern shore in late February.
Just in time for spring break, sharks started congregating off the coast of Florida earlier this month. However, even though the weather is becoming warmer and more people will be visiting Florida's beaches, these sharks really don't represent a threat to people.
According to the Shark Attack File, Florida has more shark attacks than any other state in the union, yet these incidents are still extremely uncommon. Furthermore, it is uncommon to observe great white sharks in the ocean with people.
Great white sharks are among the "big three," along with tiger and bull sharks, notorious for their aggression. Sharks don't target humans; thus, most attacks result from misidentification.
Despite the general fear that humans have for great white sharks, relatively little is still known about them by experts. To gain additional insight into the behavior of great white sharks, OCEARCH monitors their movements.
Trackers emit a "ping" sound when a shark with a tag comes into contact with the water's surface. OCEARCH tags and follows them in an effort to find out where and why they go.
Why Sharks Migrate?
Shark migration is primarily caused by three variables. It is mostly dependent on reproduction, food supply, temperature and seasonal variations.
During the summer, great white sharks migrate to the northernmost regions of their range. This region stretches up to the southern Alaskan islands along the eastern Pacific Ocean. The sharks have returned to the California coast in the early spring.
They travel to the Farallon Islands and Ano Nuevo Island, which are off the coast of San Francisco Bay, in April to feast on seals. The sharks travel to the Channel Islands off the coast of Los Angeles in mid- to late-April to give birth to their young, and they return to Ano Nuevo and the Farallons in May to dine on early-spring elephant seal pups. Puppies of elephant seals are a good supply of fat for great white sharks.
Mako sharks and great white sharks can tolerate colder water temperatures and have a greater range of motion. Fish and other food supplies' migration patterns are similarly impacted by variations in water temperature. Sharks may, therefore, move in order to hunt food that has a preference for a particular temperature range.
Scientists are able to link certain temperature ranges with distinct shark species by tracking their travels from one place to another through the use of tag and recapture studies.
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