2 large great white sharks ping off Florida coast just in time for Christmas
We're gonna need two big boats.
Great white sharks Keji and Sarah, both tagged by the research group OCEARCH, pinged off the Florida coast near the Keys on Dec. 13.
A ping means the shark's dorsal fin, to which a tag has been attached, broke the surface of the water long enough to transmit location information.
It's not unusual to find white sharks in Florida waters. The predators move south when food sources up north get scarce and the waters turn cold.
Here's what to know about the OCEARCH-tagged sharks:
What we know about OCEARCH white sharks Keji and Sarah
Keji was tagged by OCEARCH near Ironbound Island Nova Scotia on Sep. 22, 2021. At the time, the male juvenile white shark measured 9 feet 7 inches and weighed in at 578 pounds. He 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.
White shark Sarah was 10 feet, 4 inches long and weighed 632 pounds when researchers tagged her as a juvenile in the same area as Keji, during OCEARCH's 2021 Nova Scotia expedition.
It's her first known visit to Florida. Previous pings indicate she only traveled as far south as South Carolina during the winters of 2021 and 2022.
According to OCEARCH, Sarah was named after the daughter of Chris Fischer, the organization's founder and expedition leader. Sarah Fischer, a "scientist in training," even took part in an expedition, assisting with sample collection.
Why are there great white sharks off Florida in fall and winter?
Think of great whites as the snowbirds of sharks.
"As winter approaches, that availability of food gets lessened and it gets too cold for them, so they start moving south," OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter told the News-Press in March.
"A lot of these white sharks, most of them actually, tend to kind of come down, they don't really hug the coast in the sense that they're right on the beach, but they stay in the continental shelf waters, most of them and they come south."
Sunshine State visitors: Great white sharks love Florida and OCEARCH is coming down to study, tag them
Great white shark Andromache visited Southwest Florida in November
Andromache, a 10-foot, 8-inch great white shark when she was tagged by OCEARCH as a juvenile, pinged twice off Florida's coast in November. Andromache pinged off Marco Island on Nov. 5 and 16.
After spending most of August up north in the area of Canada's Bay of Fundy, she made her way south and to the waters near the Sunshine State.
But then again, she's a frequent visitor. Andromache pinged off Sarasota Dec. 14, 2022 and off Marco Island on Dec. 18 that same year.
What is OCEARCH?
OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization, focused on "generating critical scientific data related to tracking (or telemetry) and biological studies of keystone marine species, including great white and tiger sharks, while simultaneously continuing its efforts in the areas of conservation and education," according to OCEARCH at Jacksonville University.
Do 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 1,234 shark bites worldwide, according to data from floridapanhandle.com, with white sharks credited as the top biters.
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This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: OCEARCH white sharks Keji, Sarah ping off Florida ahead of Christmas
