Massive 1,437-pound shark pings off Florida's coast
Great White Shark, Carcharodon carcharias, South Africa. (Photo by: Prisma Bildagentur/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - A massive great white shark has pinged off the coast of Florida.
The 13-foot, 1,437-pound shark named Breton reportedly pinged near the coast of St. Augustine, Florida, on Dec. 30, 2023, at 5:17 a.m., according to OCEARCH, a nonprofit organization that reports the research of the ocean's giants to help scientists collect data about the sea.
Chris Fischer, OCEARCH Founder, joined FOX Weather in May 2022 when Breton pinged about 20 miles off the Carolina coast in May 2022.
A ping happens when an animal tag breaks the surface of the water, sending data. The adult male shark first Z-pinged – which officials said was a ping with no location data – a few days prior, on Dec. 26, 2023.
Breton was the first shark tagged by wildlife officials during OCEARCH's Expedition Nova Scotia 2020. He's one of five sharks tagged at Scatarie Island in two years of working there, providing evidence that the region could offer predictable access to white sharks.
SeaWorld, a partner of OCEARCH, named the shark after the "wonderful people of Cape Breton" where he was tagged.
You can track his location updates and other tagged sharks in the water using OCEARCH's shark tracking tool here.