10-foot great white shark tracked again off Florida in Gulf of Mexico, south of Marco Island

Kim Luciani, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·3 min read
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Great white sharks seem to be enjoying this winter in and around Southwest Florida waters.

Penny, a 10-foot female juvenile white shark tagged by the research group OCEARCH, pinged in the Gulf of Mexico, south of Marco Island Saturday. She previously pinged off Marco Island Jan. 6, Sarasota on Jan. 11 and Cape Coral on Jan. 15.

A ping means the tag attached to the shark's dorsal fin broke the water's surface long enough to transmit location information to trackers.

Penny was tagged last April off North Carolina. From there, she swam north to Nova Scotia and began her trip south in search of food sources and warmer waters in late October. This is her first known trip to the Sunshine State.

Here's what to know about Penny, other shark pings in SWFL, OCEARCH and white sharks in Florida:

More about OCEARCH white shark Penny

Penny, a female white shark, was 10 feet, 3 inches long and weighed 522 pounds when she was tagged off Ocracoke, North Carolina, in April 2023.
Penny, a female white shark, was 10 feet, 3 inches long and weighed 522 pounds when she was tagged off Ocracoke, North Carolina, in April 2023.

Penny measured 10 feet 3 inches and weighed 522 pounds when she was tagged on April 23, 2023, off Ocracoke, North Carolina.

The shark has traveled 4,989 miles since then – from North Carolina north to Nova Scotia, then south for the winter in the Gulf of Mexico.

Penny was the 92nd white shark tagged by OCEARCH in the Western North Atlantic and named after the group's friends at Salty Penny Canvas in Morehead City, North Carolina.

9-foot white shark Keji pinged off Sarasota in December

Sarasota waters had a visit from a white shark named Keji last month. Keji pinged there on Dec. 21 at 10:26 p.m.

The male juvenile white shark was tagged by OCEARCH near Ironbound Island Nova Scotia on Sep. 22, 2021. At the time, he measured 9 feet 7 inches and weighed in at 578 pounds. Keji was named after the Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site in the region where he was tagged, according to OCEARCH.

Keji is no stranger to Florida. According to his tracked pings, he pinged southeast of St. Augustine on Nov. 30 and spent time around Florida earlier this year, making his way around and up to the Panhandle. He also paid visits during the winters of 2021 and 2022.

Great white shark Andromache likes Southwest Florida

White shark Andromache hung around the Southwest Florida coast in November and December.

The shark pinged off Marco Island on Nov. 16 and Nov. 21, off Naples on Dec. 15 and Dec. 20, 21 and 23 and off Venice Dec. 30.

She was 10 feet 8 inches long, weighed 341 pounds and was classified as a juvenile when OCEARCH tagged her on Aug. 9, 2020, off Cape Cod.

Andromache also wintered in warm Gulf of Mexico waters in 2022. She pinged off Southwest Florida in November of 2022 and traveled to the Panhandle in early December before heading back north.

Andromache was named after a character in Greek mythology who was a symbol of maternity, strength and courage.

This image of a great white shark was taken by OCEARCH on Aug. 9 while the non-profit research group said the shark was circling the group's boat. OCEARCH placed a satellite tag on the shark and named her Andromache after a character in Greek mythology.
This image of a great white shark was taken by OCEARCH on Aug. 9 while the non-profit research group said the shark was circling the group's boat. OCEARCH placed a satellite tag on the shark and named her Andromache after a character in Greek mythology.

Are there great white sharks in Florida?

Yes. White sharks swim south when the water gets too cold for them and they lack food sources up north, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.

Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.

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

What is OCEARCH?

OCEARCH is a nonprofit organization researching the ocean's giants.

The group recently finished up its 46th expedition, dubbed Expedition Southeast. It departed from Jacksonville on Nov. 17 and is made its final docking in Morehead City, North Carolina on Dec. 15.

Most shark attacks happen in Florida

There are about 100 documented shark attacks around the globe each year and Florida is home to most of those.

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

Since 1992, there have been 1,233 shark bites worldwide, according to data from floridapanhandle.com, with white sharks credited as the top biters.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida sharks: 10-footer pings off Marco Island, Sarasota, Cape Coral