Great White Mary Lee Is Back In Florida
Mary Lee — the 16-foot, 3,400-pound great white shark which was in Bermuda’s waters in February — has travelled across the Atlantic back to Florida, researchers reported on Saturday [May 18].
A GPS tracker ping at 7:15 p.m. Saturday showed that Mary Lee was approximately 150 miles off Big Talbot Island near Jacksonville, according to shark research group Ocearch.
Since Ocearch tagged Mary Lee in September, 2012 near Cape Cod, Massachusett [pictured here] the great white shark has been tracked to northeast Florida and southeast Georgia in mid-November and early January, when Mary Lee made her closest approach to the Florida coast.
One of 35 sharks being tracked by Ocearch, Mary Lee has been called the most “visible” of the tagged specimens.
Trackers placed on the sharks “ping” when their dorsal fin surfaces above water, allowing Ocearch researchers to pinpoint exact locations.
After her brush with Jacksonville in Janurary, Mary Lee has made her way back to Northeast ['February 5], Bermuda [February 22], South Carolina [Mar. 27], New Jersey [Apr. 8] and North Carolina [May 1].
Ocearch map issued on Saturday charting Mary Lee’s ocean odyssey in recent months
With the exception of Bermuda, Mary Lee remained hundreds of miles offshore, according to the shark’s tracker on the Ocearch website.
Saturday evening’s position is the last reported on the site. In the past month alone the great white shark has travelled more than 1,700 miles.
According to Ocearch’s website, the project is tracking sharks to better understand reproductive behavior, behavior of juveniles, seasonal habits and more in order to present data for decision makers to ensure sustainability of the species.
CNN report on Ocearch and its Mary Lee tracking project
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Category: All, Environment
Sooooo, where are all of her family who do not have tags?