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OCEARCH to attempt to tag male great white sharks off Jacksonville's coast

Great white sharks are swimming offshore locally and researchers from the world-renowned group called OCEARCH are in Jacksonville ready to track them.

The Jacksonville area could help make history if OCEARCH is able to put a long-lasting tracker on a male shark; the OCEARCH ship will set out from the Northbank on Wednesday.

In 2013, OCEARCH researchers hooked and tagged a great white named Lydia off Jacksonville Beach, and discovered how far south these huge sharks travel.

Starting Wednesday, the goal will be to get a male great white shark onto the massive floating platform connected to the OCEARCH research ship.

“We need to attempt to tag the first mature male white shark in North Atlantic history,” said OCEARCH founder Chris Fischer.

Fischer said making history means placing the first ever long-tracking device on a male great white.

“It is crucial for the future balance of the whole North Atlantic,” Fischer said.

Data OCEARCH has already obtained from tagged female great whites show they come to the area to feed, but tracking a male could show more behaviors.

“If we can get that male white shark tagged and tracked and we can overlay that with our female white sharks, where those paths cross will be the mating site,” Fischer said.

Once it leaves Jacksonville, OCEARCH’s voyage will center on Cumberland Island near the St. Marys River and the mouth of the St. Johns River before returning to port in Downtown Jacksonville.

OCEARCH will share all its data with the world for free, to understand these massive sharks that researchers say have been off these shores all along.

The OCEARCH ship leaves Wednesday and should return around April 1.