10-foot great white shark makes spring break stop off Sarasota coast

a 10 meter great white shark is spending spring break off Sarasota on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

Labeled young female shark nicknamed Bella by OCEAN RESEARCH scientists, pinged Twice in Sarasota:

A ping is sent with location information OCEARCH followers when the satellite tag attached to the shark’s dorsal fin moves above the surface of the water.

Bella was tagged In July 2025, off the coast of Nova Scotia, where North Atlantic white sharks are known to spend the summer.

Sharks begin a seasonal migration in the fall, usually from mid-October to November, from their summer feeding grounds around Atlantic Canada and New England, traveling south. Florida and Gulf wintering spotspossibly for warmer waters and consistent food sources.

12 meter great white shark ErnstIt was also tagged by OCEARCH and pinged in Sarasota waters on January 1.

Here’s what you need to know about Bella the great white shark and white sharks in Florida:

Bella, a 10-foot great white shark, pings in the Bay of Sarasota, Florida

Bella, the great white shark, was released on July 18, 2025, by OCEARCH Science and Fisheries Teams and Dr. It was tagged, sampled and released in Mahone Bay, off the coast of Nova Scotia, by the Tancook Islands Marine Field Station Team, in collaboration with Nigel Hussey.

bella He was 10 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed 729 pounds at the time.

Bella has traveled 4,219 miles in the 234 days since she was tagged.

Bella, which means beautiful in Italian, is named in honor of “one of OCEARCH’s biggest fans and supporters in Florida, representing the passionate global community that fuels this important work.” tracking page states.

“His story is a testament to the power of collaboration, from world-class scientists to fishermen to ordinary ocean enthusiasts.”

What is OCEARCH? What does it do for great white sharks?

OCEARCH is a nonprofit research organization that studies ocean giants.

The group studies keystone types, including: great white sharksIt is essential for the health of the oceans.

“At OCEARCH, we are on a mission to solve the Global White Shark Puzzle. There are nine white shark populations worldwide, and OCEARCH’s goal is to help regional scientists better understand white shark life in each of these populations.” The band’s website states:.

“For more than 400 million years, white sharks have roamed our oceans; feared, admired and misunderstood. Today, intrepid teams and leading scientists aboard M/V OCEARCH are unlocking their secrets, studying these giants safely in the harshest conditions. Together, we are replacing fear with facts and solving the puzzle of the life history of white sharks.”

Jacksonville University It has been the academic home of OCEARCH for almost a decade. The planned location for the group’s new headquarters facility is in Mayport, Florida.

Are there great white sharks in Florida?

Yes. Great white sharks migrate south in the fall, mostly along the US East Coast and as far south as Florida and the Gulf.

When are great white sharks in Florida waters?

Accordingly OCEAN RESEARCHWhite sharks begin a seasonal migration in the fall, usually from mid-October to November, from their summer feeding grounds around Atlantic Canada and New England, possibly traveling as far south as Florida and the Gulf to their wintering spots for warmer waters and consistent food sources.

Cooling water temperatures and short daylight hours trigger migration.

How big do great white sharks get?

White sharks are about 1.2 meters long when they are born. They can grow to be about 20 feet long and weigh over 4,000 pounds. NOAA Fisheries.

The largest great white shark tagged by OCEARCH?

The largest great white shark ever tagged by OCEARCH is the “Queen of the Ocean” Nukumi.

Nukumi Tagged from Nova Scotia in 2020. Investigators estimated he was over 50 years old. The massive shark was 17 feet, 2 inches long and weighed 3,541 pounds.

Accordingly his followerHe traveled 5,635 miles in 191 days. Nukumi last signaled beyond the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on April 11, 2021.

largest male great white shark ever tagged and was released by OCEAN RESEARCH It is a 13-foot, 9-inch Contender.

1,653-pound shark It was tagged in January 2025 in waters along the Florida-Georgia border.

Follow-up of the contestant tag active. Its last signal was off the coast of Jacksonville on December 14, 2025.

What do great white sharks eat?

Accordingly NOAA FisheriesWhite sharks have a diverse and opportunistic diet consisting of fish, invertebrates and marine mammals.

Juvenile white sharks eat mostly bottom fish, smaller sharks and rays, schooling fish, and squid.

Greater white sharks often gather around seal and sea lion colonies to feed and sometimes scavenge for dead whales.

How many great white sharks are there?

There is no definitive data on the global population of white sharks, and estimates vary widely, from 3,000 to over 10,000.

According to NOAA Fisheries:

• The stock status of white shark populations in U.S. waters is unknown and no stock assessments have been completed. No stock assessments are currently planned in the Atlantic.

• Research by NOAA Fisheries scientists shows that abundance trends have increased in the Northwest Atlantic since regulations protecting them were first implemented in the 1990s.

• The northeastern Pacific white shark population appears to be increasing and is not at risk of becoming endangered in U.S. waters, according to a NOAA Fisheries status review and recent research.

great white shark facts

• Weight: up to 4,500 pounds

• Length: Approximately 4 feet (at birth) and up to 21 feet (adult)

• Lifetime: 70 years or more

• Threats: Bycatch, Habitat Impacts, Overfishing. According to NOAA Fisheries, white shark It is a prohibited species (keep is not permitted) in all waters and fisheries of the United States. There is no commercial fishing for white sharks, but they are sometimes caught as bycatch.

• Area: Alaska, New England/Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Islands, Southeast, West Coast

• teeth: Great white sharks have 300 teeth, but they do not chew their food. Instead, they tear it into pieces and swallow it whole. Sharks have an infinite number of teeth, and lost teeth are replaced forever.

• Appearance: Because great white sharks can see well in low light, they can hunt at dawn, dusk, or in deep water, OCEARCH reported.

• In addition, white sharks can detect the weak electrical signals emitted by creatures even under the sand. They also detect vibration changes in the water, allowing them to detect movement and find prey.

OCEARCH shark tracker: Track great white sharks beyond Florida

North Atlantic great white sharks migrate as far south as Florida and the Gulf in winter, seeking warmer waters and more food sources.

According to the band’s website, OCEAN RESEARCH “is a global nonprofit organization that conducts unprecedented research on the giants of our oceans to help scientists collect previously unobtainable data on the ocean.”

OCEARCH tagged 140 white sharks, mostly off the East Coast and Nova Scotia.

You can follow their journey. OCEARCH shark tracker website or by Downloading the OCEARCH Global Shark Tracker app.

This article first appeared in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Great white shark ‘Bella’ pings twice in 2 days off Sarasota, Florida