9-foot great white shark known to travel with a 'buddy' pings off Florida near Vero Beach

Kim Luciani, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
Updated ·5 min read

Florida's Treasure Coast had a snowbird of a different kind visiting its waters Wednesday.

A 9-foot 6-inch great white shark nicknamed Simon, tracked by the research group OCEARCH, surfaced off the Vero Beach coast at 7:28 p.m.

Researchers placed a satellite tag on the male juvenile shark's dorsal fin in 2022 during an expedition in Georgia. The tag emits pings when Simon's dorsal fin breaks the water's surface, allowing his location to be tracked.

Simon has traveled 6,912 miles since he was tagged but this is his first known visit to Florida and the farthest south he's been, his tracker shows. He spent the previous two winters around Georgia and South Carolina.

And he may not be alone. Simon appears to have a travel buddy. OCEARCH scientists were surprised to discover Simon and a second tagged, 8-foot white shark named Jekyll traveled side-by-side for more than 4,000 miles, USA TODAY reported. The species were believed to prefer only solitude.

This is potentially groundbreaking," OCEARCH chief scientist Bob Hueter said in a Facebook video. "We've never seen anything quite like this before."

Genetic testing will be done to determine if Simon and Jekyll are brothers or otherwise related.

What's no surprise is white sharks surfacing in waters around the Sunshine State during winter months. The fearsome ocean predators tend to migrate south when waters up north turn cold and food sources become scarce.

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

More about OCEARCH-tagged great white shark Simon

Simon was caught and tagged off St. Simon's Island, Georgia on Dec. 4, 2022, during OCEARCH Expedition Southbound.

In December, researchers with OCEARCH tagged two sharks named Simon and Jekyll on the southeastern coast of the U.S. who have since traveled together for thousands of miles. Pictured is Simon.
In December, researchers with OCEARCH tagged two sharks named Simon and Jekyll on the southeastern coast of the U.S. who have since traveled together for thousands of miles. Pictured is Simon.

At the time he was considered a juvenile shark, measuring 9-foot 6 inches and weighing 434 pounds. White sharks can grow up to 20 feet long, though most are smaller with males averaging 11-13 feet.

Simon was named after St. Simon's Island, where OCEARCH met him.

White shark Penny tracked near Cape Coral, Sarasota and Marco Island in January

A 10-foot great white shark named Penny was tracked off the Cape Coral coast Jan. 15.

At 11:18 p.m., Penny pinged off Sarasota's coast near the edge of the West Florida Escarpment, a 560-mile-long cliff in the Gulf of Mexico where the seafloor plunges from just over 300 feet to nearly 10,000 feet deep. The escarpment is between 155 to 215 miles off the coast.

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.

This is Penny's first trip to Florida since she was tagged. Once she was tagged, Penny traveled north to Nova Scotia before starting her migration south in late October.

Penny previously pinged in Southwest Florida, near Sarasota on Jan. 11 and Marco Island on Jan. 6.

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.

White Shark Keji pinged off St. Augustine Nov. 30, 2023. Keji was tagged by Ocearch Sept. 22, 2021, off Ironbound Island, Nova Scotia.
White Shark Keji pinged off St. Augustine Nov. 30, 2023. Keji was tagged by Ocearch Sept. 22, 2021, off Ironbound Island, Nova Scotia.

Great white shark Andromache likes Gulf, Southwest Florida

White shark Andromache has been hanging around the Southwest Florida coast since November.

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.

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.

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.

Breton, shark known for 'drawing' own portrait, pings off Florida's East Coast

Breton, a 13-foot 3-inch, 1,437-pound male shite shark, was swimming off Flagler Beach on Jan. 1 and off Jacksonville's coast on Dec. 21 when trackers received pings of his location.

Breton spent a little over two years making a "self-portrait." His pings between September 2020 and January 2022 connect to show what appears to be the outline of a huge shark, with the tail in Nova Scotia, the body along the east coast and head pointed at Florida's east coast.

Breton, a 1,400 pound OCEARCH-tagged white shark seemingly created a self-portrait with pings of his journey received by the research group's shark tracker.
Breton, a 1,400 pound OCEARCH-tagged white shark seemingly created a self-portrait with pings of his journey received by the research group's shark tracker.

"You can track Breton, the white shark that made this self-portrait on the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker," the research group posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Why do great white sharks come to Florida?

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 is 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 1,234 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: 9-foot white shark pings off Florida, may be traveling with 'friend'