JACKSONVILLE, Fla -- A great white shark, from Massachusetts, has been tracked to Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Beach was quiet and foggy Friday. People were just walking along the water. But out in the ocean are sharks, great white sharks.
In September, a team of marine biologists put electronic tags on great white sharks in Massachusetts. Last week the satellite device alerted the team one of their sharks was 50 miles off Jacksonville's coast.
"There's a lot for them to eat, a lot to consume. It's a good area for them over the winter," said biologist Greg Skomal.
Skomal says scientists are trying to find out where these sharks go and how long they spend in one place.
"We'll be able to recreate what the shark did when he left Cape Cod," he said.
A month ago, people out in a boat near Mayport took home video of a great white. Skomal says it's possible it's the same shark.
"It seems to have been in the Florida area for the last month or so. There are lots of sharks, but it wouldn't surprise me," said Skomal.
The shark ending up here isn't a surprise to experts like Mark Beshel.
"They're really a cold water shark. They're one of the species that can warm their blood up," said Beshel.
But he says this study will hopefully answer some questions.
"No one even knows where they reproduce their young."
The biologist tagged five great white sharks. The other tags are set to fall off in the next couple months. You can find out more about this research by clicking on the links below.
This was the first successful tagging of white sharks in the Atlantic Ocean using electronic satellite technology.
