She really likes us! 10-foot great white shark Andromache pings again off Naples coast

Kim Luciani, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·2 min read

A great white shark, tagged and tracked by the research group OCEARCH since 2020, continues hanging around the Southwest Florida coast.

As evidenced by a ping early on Dec. 21, the female shark, named Andromache, was far off the Naples coast. She surfaced at 6:12 a.m., long enough for the tag attached to her dorsal fin to send location information to researchers.

Andromache previously pinged off Marco Island on Nov. 16 and Nov. 21, and off Naples twice on Dec. 15 and Dec. 20.

According to her tracker, she traveled 19 miles in the past 24 hours, 22 miles in the past 72 hours, and 14,273 miles since she was tagged.

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

Here's what to know about Andromache, OCEARCH and white sharks:

OCEARCH great white shark Andromache

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 was tagged by OCEARCH on Aug. 9, 2020 off Cape Cod during the group's Expedition Massachusetts. She was 10-feet, 8-inches long and weighed 341 pounds and was classified as a juvenile at the time.

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

She seems to like the waters off Southwest Florida. She left the Bay of Fundy in Canada in August before heading south to the Sunshine State and has pinged around the same area since mid-November and where she also spent time in the fall of 2022.

Just in time for Christmas: 2 large great white sharks ping off Florida Keys

Why are great white sharks in Florida waters?

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: Sharks in Florida: OCEARCH white shark pings off Naples again