Kim LucianiUSA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
Where did great white shark Umi go?
That was the question OCEARCH and Jacksonville University researchers were looking to answer.
OCEARCH attached a satellite tracking tag to the 13-foot 3-inch, 1,225-pound shark's dorsal fin on April 20, 2023, during its 45th expedition. The group tracks tagged sharks on its Global Shark Tracker to learn more about the species.
But Umi's tag never pinged and no location information was ever received by the tracker.
More than a year later, on May 3, 2024, Umi's pop-off satellite tag (PSAT) detached and washed up on Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina, OCEARCH said in an Instagram post.
The tag, containing a year's worth of data, was located with help from the NC Aquarium and the Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Protection Organization, the Wilmington StarNews, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported.
Jacksonville University, OCEARCH scientists examine great white shark Umi's tag
The tag was examined by Dr. Bryan Franks at Jacksonville University and data containing more than 6 million data points were downloaded.
"Getting one year of data from a tag when we simply get those tag transmissions is great data, but you get nowhere near the resolution in terms of depth and temperature as you do when you can get the tag back and you can get every single data point that the tag collected. It's just a huge difference," Franks said in a Facebook video.
Great white shark Umi visited Florida, Gulf of Mexico
OCEARCH Senior Data Scientist John Tyminski evaluated the data file from Umi's PSAT tag and was able to determine the shark's journey over the past year, a Facebook video shows.
Umi's travels started in North Carolina's Outer Banks where the animal was tagged in April 2023. The shark moved south along Florida's east coast and into the Gulf of Mexico by June, then back out into the Atlantic and up North into the Mid-Atlantic region until the end of September when it headed south to the Carolinas until December, spent some time off Georgia and the south end of North Carolina where its tag popped off.
What does OCEARCH 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.
OCEARCH was due to launch its 47th expedition on April 1 but canceled it due to delays in the repair and maintenance of its research vessel M/V OCEARCH, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Instead, scientists plan to head to Europe this summer for Expedition Save the Med.
Scientists plan to travel to Spain, France and Ireland aboard the research vessel M/V OCEARCH tostudy the Mediterranean Sea great white shark population. Expedition Save the Med is planned for July 29 to September 23.
"Ruthlessly persecuted. Completely misunderstood. Now critically endangered. OCEARCH is traveling over 4,000 miles to explore European waters and study the Mediterranean white shark population. A study of this kind has never been done before,"the group posted on its website.
OCEARCH is giving away a Europe trip, chance to 'meet' shark
Make a donation to OCEARCHorfill out a registration formto be entered into the "Meet a Shark" sweepstakes and a chance to win a trip to Europe and "meet" a great white shark. No purchase is necessary, according to the official sweepstakes rules.
The grand prize winner and a guest get a 5-day, 4-night trip to Spain, France or Ireland with airfare and hotel included and have a chance to join OCEARCH scientists on their research vessel during the shark-tagging Expedition Save the Med.
The sweepstakes started on May 1 and eligible entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. on August 5, 2024.
Entrants must be 21 or older and legal residents of the United States, Canada (excluding Quebec), the UK or Ireland.
Winners will be determined by random drawing. Official rules are available atmeetashark.com.
OCEARCH shark tracker maps tagged great white sharks' travels
OCEARCH provides an online map tracking the tagged sharks' travels.
Each animal has a Smart Position and Temperature Transmitting Tag (SPOT) tag attached to its dorsal fin which emits a ping when it breaks the water's surface for a short time and transmits location information to trackers.
The most notable tracker page belongs to a 13-foot 3-inch white shark nicknamed Breton. The 1,437-pound shark's pings from September 2020 to January 2022connect to show what appears to be the outline of a colossal shark, with the tail in Nova Scotia, the body spanning the East Coast and the head pointing at Florida's east coast.
How many sharks has OCEARCH tagged?
According to its tracker, OCEARCH has tagged 371 sharks, including 123 great white sharks.
- 123 great white sharks
- 144 tiger sharks
- 9 blacktip sharks
- 29 shortfin mako sharks
- 25 blue sharks
- 18 hammerhead sharks
- 6 silky sharks
- 6 bull sharks
- 8 whale sharks
- 3 great hammerhead sharks
The group has also tagged alligators, dolphins, seals, swordfish and turtles.
Are there great white sharks in Florida?
Yes. Great whitesharksmigrate south when the water gets cold and food sources become scarce up north, according toOCEARCH 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.
Most shark attacks happen in Florida
There were 69 documented unprovokedshark attacksaround 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 from 1882-present:
- Volusia: 351
- Brevard: 158
- Palm Beach: 83
- St. Johns: 45
- Duval: 46
- Martin: 41
- St. Lucie: 39
- Indian River: 22
- Monroe: 21
- Miami-Dade: 20
- Broward: 16
- Pinellas: 15
- Bay: 9
- Collier: 8
- Lee: 8
- Sarasota: 7
- Flagler: 6
- Escambia: 7
- Nassau: 8
- Okaloosa: 4
- Manatee: 5
- Gulf: 2
- Franklin: 2
- Walton: 1
- Charlotte: 1
- Santa Rosa: 1
While the U.S. has the most attacks, South Africa has the most shark-related fatalities.
Of the 949 global shark attacks recorded by Shark Attack File,great white sharks were credited as the top biters. However, no white shark has been identified in a Florida shark bite since 1926.
Support local journalismbysubscribing to aFlorida news organization.
