Florida
Colossal white shark tagged by OCEARCH, frequent Florida visitor, pings in rare location
Sharks could help predict hurricanes
Researchers at the University of Delaware and hoping that sharks equipped with sensor tags can help forecasters better predict hurricanes.
The largest male great white shark ever tagged and released by the nonprofit research group OCEARCH is making waves again, this time with a rare ping location.
The 13-foot, 9-inch, 1,653-pound shark, nicknamed Contender, was tagged in the waters off the Florida-Georgia border in January 2025.
Shortly after, Contender toured the east coast of Florida.
The massive animal first surfaced in Sunshine State waters on Jan. 26, 2025, pinging three times off the Fernandina Beach coast. Contender then zig-zagged between Amelia Island and Jacksonville Beach before swimming south to the waters off St. Augustine on Feb. 6, Volusia County on Feb. 8 and 9, and Brevard County waters on Feb. 10.
Contender then headed north, pinging off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in July — staying “silent” (or no pings) until Sept. 29.
That’s when the shark pinged about 857 miles north, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, northeast of Anticosta Island, Canada, a region OCEARCH-tagged sharks rarely ping from, the group’s senior data scientist John Tyminski said in an Instagram video.
“Big shark, big journey,” Tyminski said.
Tyminski said the food supply – harbor and gray seals, along with abundant schooling fish, such as mackerel and herring – is what’s most likely drawing Contender into the 50-degree waters.
Here’s what to know about Contender, OCEARCH and great white sharks:
Contender is the biggest male great white shark tagged by OCEARCH
Contender measured 13 feet, 9 inches and weighed 1,653 pounds at the time of tagging, making it the largest male white shark ever tagged by OCEARCH.
“Contender is the largest male white shark the OCEARCH team has sampled, tagged, released and studied to date in the NW Atlantic white shark population! So he’s pretty special,” Nicole Ralson, OCEARCH chief marketing officer, said in an email.
Massive great white shark caught and tagged off Florida-Georgia coast
Contender is a 1,653-pound great white shark, the largest male tagged and released by OCEARCH scientists. He was tagged off the Florida-Georgia coast.
What do we know about OCEARCH great white shark Contender, who has surfaced several times in Florida?
Contender, an adult male white shark, was tagged by OCEARCH off the Georgia-Florida coast on Jan. 17, 2025.
“Meet Contender, the ultimate ocean warrior! This powerful white shark was tagged on January 17, 2025, off the FL/GA coast, about 45 miles offshore,” the shark’s tracker page reads. “Contender is a mature male now contributing to OCEARCH’s mission of shark research and ocean conservation.”
According to his tracker, Contender has traveled 3,210 miles since being tagged.
Contender was reportedly named for Contender Boats, a longtime OCEARCH partner.
What is OCEARCH? What does research group 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.
Jacksonville University has been the academic home for OCEARCH for nearly a decade and the planned new location for the group’s new headquarters facility is in Mayport, Florida.
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:
- The stock status for 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 indicates that abundance trends have been increasing in the northwest Atlantic since regulations protecting them were first implemented in the 1990s.
- According to a NOAA Fisheries status review and recent research, the northeastern Pacific white shark population appears to be increasing and is not at risk of becoming endangered in U.S. waters.
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.
Great white sharks in Florida: Why are they here? What to know
North Atlantic great white sharks spend winters off the southeast U.S., from South Carolina to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s why.
Great white shark facts
- Weight: Up to 4,500 pounds
- Length: About 4 feet (at birth) and up to 21 feet (adult)
- Lifespan: 70 years or more
- Threats: Bycatch, Habitat Impacts, Overfishing. According to NOAA Fisheries, the white shark is a prohibited species (no retention allowed) in all U.S. waters and fisheries. There are no commercial fisheries for white sharks, but they are occasionally caught as bycatch.
- Region: Alaska, New England/Mid-Atlantic, Pacific Islands, Southeast, West Coast
- Teeth: Great white sharks have 300 teeth but don’t chew their food. Instead, they rip it into pieces and swallow it whole. The sharks have an endless supply of teeth, with lost teeth regenerating infinitely.
- Smell: According to OCEARCH, great white sharks can sniff out a single drop of blood in an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
- Sight: Great white sharks can see well in low light, enabling them to hunt at dawn, dusk, or in deep waters, OCEARCH reported.
- Additionally, white sharks can detect weak electrical signals emitted by living creatures, even under sand. They also identify vibration changes in the water, allowing them to find prey by sensing movement.
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.
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Florida
South Florida faith leaders call for Miami mental health center to finally open
Florida
SNAP benefits will be changing in Florida starting Monday
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
Florida
GALLERY: Barrett-Jackson ‘Super Saturday’ takes over South Florida Fairgrounds
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
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