12-foot white shark pings off Jacksonville's coast

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Many people are beginning to brave the ocean at Jacksonville Beach now that the water temperature has reached 77 degrees.

“The water is great,” surfer Coty Tuggle said. “You don’t need a wet suit anymore.”

As crowds enjoy the ocean, sharks are beginning to migrate north.

Miss Costa, a 12-foot white shark tagged by OCEARCH, pinged off the coast of Jacksonville on Thursday.

WATCH: 'Great White' shark swims close to boat south of St. Augustine

Biologists believe she was approximately 50 miles off the coast as she begins to make her way north.

“If there are some that are pinging near Jacksonville, it’s likely that there’s others in the area,” Dr. Bryan Franks said.

Franks is a Jacksonville University professor and shark biologist who works with OCEARCH.

He said white sharks migrate south in late fall and early winter, then head toward the northeast in early summer.

Sharks tagged by OCEARCH have to break the surface to ping. He said many may pass through our area unnoticed.

WATCH: Nassau County fishermen come within feet of 14-foot white shark

“A shark like Hilton, he may kind of blow right past Jacksonville and we may not detect him again until he’s back north,” Franks said.

Some beachgoers said hearing Miss Costa, who weighs more than 1,600 pounds, is in the area will keep them out of the water.

“I don’t really go in the water as much as it is. That would definitely keep me out,” Alexandria Smith said.

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Other beachgoers said they don’t think it’s a big deal.

“I don’t think they’re much of a problem,” Tuggle said. “If you see a shark, don’t swim near it. But usually they’re swimming under you anyways.”

Franks said people shouldn’t be nervous because negative interactions between sharks and humans are very rare.

Read more about Miss Costa and other white sharks that will likely be migrating north past our area on the OCEARCH website.

Cox Media Group