A 10-foot great white shark is spending spring break off the Sarasota, Florida Gulf coast.
The tagged juvenile female shark, nicknamed Bella by OCEARCH scientists, pinged twice off Sarasota:
A ping with location information is sent to OCEARCH trackers when the satellite tag attached to the shark’s dorsal fin moves above the water’s surface.
Bella was tagged in July 2025 off Nova Scotia, where North Atlantic white sharks are known to spend the summer.
The sharks begin a seasonal migration in the fall, typically from mid-October through November, from their summer feeding grounds around Atlantic Canada and New England and travel as far south as Florida and the Gulf to their overwintering spots, presumably for warmer waters and consistent food sources.
12-foot great white shark Ernst, also tagged by OCEARCH, pinged in Sarasota waters on Jan. 1.
Here’s what to know about great white shark Bella and white sharks in Florida:
10-foot great white shark Bella pings in Gulf off Sarasota, Florida
Great white shark Bella was tagged, sampled and released in Mahone Bay off Nova Scotia by the Tancook Islands Marine Field Station Team, in collaboration with the OCEARCH Science and Fishing Teams and Dr. Nigel Hussey of the University of Windsor on July 18, 2025, at 4:48 p.m.
Bella was 10 feet, 2 inches long and weighed 729 pounds at the time.
In the 234 days since she was tagged, Bella has traveled 4,219 miles.
Bella – the Italian word for beautiful – was named in honor of “one of OCEARCH’s biggest fans and supporters in Florida, representing the passionate global community that fuels this important work,” her tracker page states.
“Her story is a testament to the power of collaboration—from world-class scientists and fishermen to everyday ocean lovers.”
What is OCEARCH? What does it do for great white sharks?
OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization studying the ocean’s giants.
The group studies keystone species, including great white sharks, essential for the health of the oceans.
“At OCEARCH, we’re on a mission to solve the Global White Shark Puzzle. There are nine populations of white sharks across the globe and OCEARCH’s goal is to assist regional scientists to better understand the life of the white shark in each of these populations,” the group’s website states.
“For over 400 million years, white sharks have roamed our oceans—feared, admired, and misunderstood. Today, fearless crews and leading scientists aboard the M/V OCEARCH are uncovering their secrets, safely studying these giants in some of the harshest conditions. Together, we’re replacing fear with facts and solving the life history puzzle of white sharks.”
Jacksonville University has been the academic home for OCEARCH for nearly a decade. The planned location for the group’s new headquarters facility is in Mayport, Florida.
Does Florida have great white sharks?
Yes. Great white sharks migrate south in the fall, mostly along the U.S. East Coast and as far south as Florida and the Gulf.
When are great white sharks in Florida waters?
According to OCEARCH, white sharks begin a seasonal migration in the fall, typically from mid-October through November, from their summer feeding grounds around Atlantic Canada and New England and travel as far south as Florida and the Gulf to their overwintering spots, presumably for warmer waters and consistent food sources.
Cooling water temperatures and shorter daylight hours trigger the migration.
How big do great white sharks get?
White sharks are about 4 feet long when they’re born. They can grow to about 20 feet in length and can weigh over 4,000 pounds, according to NOAA Fisheries.
Biggest great white shark ever tagged by OCEARCH?
The largest great white shark ever tagged by OCEARCH is the “Queen of the Ocean” Nukumi.
Nukumi was tagged off Nova Scotia in 2020. Researchers estimated her to be over 50 years old. The massive shark was 17 feet, 2 inches long and weighed a whopping 3,541 pounds.
According to her tracker, she traveled 5,635 miles in 191 days. Nukumi last pinged beyond the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on Apr. 11, 2021.
The largest male great white shark ever tagged and released by OCEARCH is 13-foot, 9-inch Contender.
The 1,653-pound shark was tagged in the waters off the Florida-Georgia border in January 2025.
Contender’s tracking tag is active. His latest ping was Dec. 14, 2025, off the Jacksonville coast.
What do great white sharks eat?
According to NOAA Fisheries, white sharks have a diverse and opportunistic diet of fish, invertebrates and marine mammals.
Juvenile white sharks mainly eat bottom fish, smaller sharks and rays, and schooling fish and squids.
Larger white sharks often gather around seal and sea lion colonies to feed and also occasionally scavenge dead whales.
How many great white sharks are there?
There’s no absolute data on the global population of white sharks and estimates vary widely – from 3,000 to over 10,000.
According to NOAA Fisheries:
Great white shark facts
OCEARCH shark tracker: Follow great white sharks in Florida, beyond
North Atlantic great white sharks migrate as far south as Florida and the Gulf in winter, searching for warmer waters and more food sources.
According to the group’s website, OCEARCH is “a global nonprofit organization conducting unprecedented research on our oceans’ giants in order to help scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean.”
OCEARCH has tagged 140 white sharks, many of them along the Eastern Seaboard and Nova Scotia.
You can follow their journeys on the OCEARCH shark tracker website or by downloading the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 10-foot great white shark makes spring break stop off Sarasota coast
Reporting by Kim Luciani, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
