People nationwide have a fondness for Florida, and it appears that sharks share that sentiment too. OCEARCH has reported the sighting of two additional great white sharks near the coastline.
In early November, a 10-foot, 460-pound great white shark was detected near Daytona Beach. This morning, a larger one measuring 13 feet and weighing 1,400 pounds surfaced just north of Jacksonville Beach.
Less than an hour later, another shark was detected off the coast of Biscayne Bay.
According to Dr. Bob Hueter, OCEARCH’s Senior Advisor for Science & Academics, our coastline is a hotspot for sharks during this time of year.
“It’s kind of like winter snowbirds, the sharks start heading south in the fall as the temperatures drop up north. We have probably about a dozen species that are on the move right now. The one that is the most prominent is the one we work on on OCEARCH the white shark otherwise known as the great white shark,” he said.
Hueter mentioned that the migration began around mid-October and usually continues through November into early December.
“By early December, they are typically off the southeast coast, off the Florida East Coast, and then a great number of them go all the way around the Keys and into the Gulf of Mexico, the eastern Gulf of Mexico primarily,” Hueter said.
He mentioned that the sharks remain at distances ranging from one to 100 miles offshore.
