Tagged great white shark Breton spotted off Florida, defying typical summer migration
A 1,400-pound great white shark known as Breton has been recorded near eastern Florida, a region and season where such sharks are uncommon, prompting researchers to investigate the reasons for its unusual movement.
Scientists from the nonprofit OCEARCH have observed that Breton, an adult great white shark tagged off Nova Scotia in September 2020, is currently located off the eastern coast of Florida. The shark, which weighs more than 1,400 pounds, is traveling south during the summer, a period when most white sharks in the Atlantic move north toward cooler waters and abundant prey.
Data from the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker show Breton’s recent pings in sea surface temperatures around 87 °F. > "Warm surface water doesn’t necessarily mean unsuitable habitat," OCEARCH senior data scientist John Tyminski said, noting that the shark can dive hundreds of meters to reach cooler depths.
Tyminski added that the shark may be following schools of pelagic fish that congregate off Florida’s coast. > "Sharks don’t always follow the rulebook," he said, emphasizing that the drivers of white-shark movements remain complex and not fully understood.
OCEARCH continues to tag and monitor more than 400 marine animals worldwide, providing real-time data through its public tracker app.