2 great white sharks tagged by OCEARCH tracked off Florida, near Marco Island

Two toothy visitors were tracked to the waters off the Southwest Florida coast over the weekend.

Keji, a 9-foot 7-inch great white shark, pinged far off Marco Island Friday at 1:59 p.m. On Sunday at 11:55 a.m., a 9-foot 6-inch white shark named Simon pinged near the same location.

Their travels are recorded via satellite tags attached to their dorsal fins by OCEARCH researchers. When a tag breaks the water’s surface, location information is transmitted to trackers.

Simon was known to travel 4,000 miles with an 8-foot shark “buddy” named Jekyll, surprising scientists who previously believed sharks preferred only solitude.

But it looks like they may have parted ways. Jekyll’s tracker shows him pinging off Jacksonville on Feb. 4. Jekyll also pinged off South Carolina less than a day before Simon was tracked off Florida’s Treasure Coast on Jan. 20.

Here’s what to know about Keji, Simon, OCEARCH and white sharks in Florida:

What we know about OCEARCH white shark Keji

Keji was tagged by OCEARCH near Ironbound Island Nova Scotia on Sep. 22, 2021. At the time, the male juvenile white shark measured 9 feet 7 inches and weighed in at 578 pounds. White sharks can grow up to 20 feet long, though most are smaller with males averaging 11-13 feet.

Keji was named after the Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site in the region where he was tagged, according to OCEARCH.

He is no stranger to Florida. According to his tracked pings, Keji was near the Florida Keys on Dec. 13, southeast of St. Augustine on Nov. 30 and made his way to the Panhandle in early 2023. He also paid visits during the winters of 2021 and 2022.

More about great white shark Simon

Simon was caught and tagged off St. Simon’s Island, Georgia on Dec. 4, 2022, during OCEARCH Expedition Southbound.

At the time he was considered a juvenile shark, measuring 9-foot 6 inches and weighing 434 pounds.

Simon was named after St. Simon’s Island, where OCEARCH met him.

Simon recently pinged off Vero Beach on Jan. 17 and near Stuart on Jan. 20.

Why are great white sharks in Florida?

White sharks swim south when the water gets too cold for them and they lack food sources up north, according to OCEARCH chief scientist Dr. Bob Hueter.

Think of them as the snowbirds of sharks.

Most of them tend to hang out away from the beaches in the continental shelf waters, Hueter said.

What is OCEARCH?

OCEARCH is a nonprofit organization researching the ocean’s giants.

The group is recently finished up its 46th expedition, dubbed Expedition Southeast. It departed from Jacksonville on Nov. 17 and is made its final docking in Morehead City, North Carolina on Dec. 15.

There are about 100 documented shark attacks around the globe each year and Florida is home to most of those.

While Florida has the most attacks, South Africa has the most shark-related fatalities.

Since 1992, there have been 1,232 shark bites worldwide, according to data from floridapanhandle.com, with white sharks credited as the top biters.

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