NEWS

1,400-pound great white shark known for its shark 'drawing' pings off Florida coast again

Kim Luciani
USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

A massive great white shark, known to be somewhat of an "artist," paid a visit off the Volusia County coast.

The 13-foot, 3-inch, 1,437-pound shark, nicknamed Breton by the OCEARCH scientists who tagged it, pinged south of New Smyrna Beach at 5:01 p.m. Sunday, March 10. A satellite tag was attached to Breton's dorsal fin in 2020. The tag sends a ping with location information to trackers when it breaks the water's surface.

Breton previously pinged off Jacksonville on Dec. 21, 2023, and Florida's east coast in June and December 2022.

But Breton’s pings between 2020 and 2022 are much more interesting. They connect to show what appears to be the outline of a colossal shark spanning the entire east coast.

This photo from September 2020 shows the OCEARCH research team as it tags Breton, a great white shark while off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Here's what to know about Breton, OCEARCH and great white sharks in Florida.

Great white shark Breton made 'self portrait' of a shark on OCEARCH tracker

Breton spent a little over two years making a "self-portrait." Its 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.

"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.

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.

More about OCEARCH great white shark Breton

Breton was the first shark tagged during OCEARCH's 2020 expedition in Nova Scotia, the group reported.

At that time the adult shark was 13 feet, 3 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 1,437 pounds.

Breton was named by SeaWorld, an OCEARCH partner, for the people of Cape Breton where it was tagged.

White shark facts

Here are some things to know about white sharks, according to NOAA Fisheries:

  • White sharks grow slowly. Males mature at around 26 years old and females at around 33 years old. Life expectancy is difficult to determine but is estimated to be between 30 and 70 years.
  • White sharks are about 4 feet long at birth but can grow up to about 20 feet long and weigh over 4,000 pounds.
  • White shark eat an opportunistic diet of fish, invertebrates and marine mammals.
  • White sharks are partially warm-blooded and can maintain their internal body temperature above that of the surrounding water. This allows them to be more active in cooler waters than cold-blooded species.

Are there great white sharks in Florida?

Yes. White sharks migrate south when the water gets cold and food sources become scarce up north, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.

Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.

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

What does OCEARCH do?

OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization studying the ocean's giants.

The group studies great white sharks and other keystone species essential for the health of the oceans.

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

During the expeditions, researchers collected previously unattainable data on the animals' migrations, reproductive cycle, genetic status, diet, abundance, and more.

"If we lose the apex predator (sharks) then we lose all our fish and then there are no fish sandwiches for our grandchildren," OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer told the Courier Journal. "That's oversimplified, of course, but the idea is important because many shark species are threatened by overfishing and a demand for shark fins in Asia. Their dwindling numbers jeopardize ocean habitats."

Most shark attacks happen in Florida

There were 69 documented unprovoked shark attacks around the globe in 2023. The U.S. led the world with 36 attacks and Florida again was the state with the most bites at 16.

Florida shark attacks by county:

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

Since 1992, there have been 1,232 shark bites worldwide, according to data from floridapanhandle.com, with white sharks credited as the top biters.

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