Last month, a 13-foot-long great white shark weighing over 1,437 pounds was spotted near Jacksonville Beach.
That shark — named “Breton” — was one of the largest great whites to be pinged off the coast of Florida, according to OCEARCH.
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However, there are several other great whites found near the Sunshine State that vastly outweigh Breton.
Alongside Breton, these behemoths can be tracked using OCEARCH’s shark tracker, which catalogs the movement of these sharks as they travel through the water.
They are as follows:
| Name | Weight | Length | Last Pinged Near Florida |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unama’ki | 2,195 pounds | 15 feet, 5 inches | November 2020 |
| Lydia | 2,072 pounds | 14 feet, 6 inches | March 2013 |
| Mahone | 1,701 pounds | 13 feet, 7 inches | March 2022 |
| Scot | 1,644 pounds | 12.3 feet | June 2023 |
| Vimy | 1,637 pounds | 12 feet, 7 inches | April 2022 |
| Breton | 1,437 pounds | 13 feet, 3 inches | January 2024 |
| Ironbound | 1,189 pounds | 12 feet, 4 inches | April 2023 |
| Edithe | 1,185 pounds | 11 feet, 8 inches | April 2021 |
| Hilton | 1,086 pounds | 12 feet, 5 inches | May 2018 |
| Sable | 807 pounds | 10 feet, 6 inches | January 2023 |
All of these sharks can be tracked using OCEARCH’s online shark tracker. Simply type the name of the shark you want to find in the tracker’s filter, and the tracker will pop up with the locations where that shark has been pinged.
Below are some pictures and details about each of these enormous sharks.
No. 1: UNAMA’KI
- Weight: 2,195 pounds
- Length: 15 feet, 5 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: November 2020
The largest on this list, Unama’ki was last pinged near the Florida Keys after swimming south along the coast from near Vero Beach.
She was originally tagged in September 2019 in Nova Scotia. Since then, she’s been tracked up and down the east coast of North America, ranging from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico.
“Unama’ki” is the word used by the indigenous Mi’kmaq people of Novia Scotia to refer to the nearby Cape Breton, and it means “land of the fog,” OCEARCH researchers explained.
Her final ping was on Nov. 10, 2020, west of the Florida Keys.
No. 2: LYDIA
- Weight: 2,072 pounds
- Length: 14 feet, 6 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: March 2013
Next up is Lydia, who was first tagged in March 2013 at Jacksonville.
Like Unama’ki, Lydia has been tracked along the east coast and well into the Atlantic Ocean, though her final ping in March 2017 came from just north of the Bahamas.
She was named after the founder of Bradley University, who was a long-time friend of Caterpillar, according to OCEARCH.
No. 3: MAHONE
- Weight: 1,701 pounds
- Length: 13 feet, 7 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: March 2022
No. 3 on this list is Mahone, the largest male shark tagged by OCEARCH in Canadian waters.
According to the organization, he was tagged during a 2020 expedition in Nova Scotia, near Lunenburg. He was named after the nearby Mahone Bay.
Mahone’s typical forays extend as far south as the Carolinas, he was pinged off the coast of Daytona Beach in March 2022.
His latest ping was early last month near South Carolina.
No. 4: SCOT
- Weight: 1,644 pounds
- Length: 12.3 feet
- Last Seen Near Florida: June 2023
Scott weighs in (literally) at No. 4, marking the 74th great white shark tagged by OCEARCH in the northwest Atlantic Ocean — as well as the first shark sampled during Expedition Nova Scotia 2021.
OCEARCH reports that Scot was named by the group’s partners at SeaWorld, which has historically supported ocean-health initiatives like OCEARCH.
Appropriately enough, Scot was named after the people of Nova Scotia, and he has made a couple oftrips down to the East Coast toward Florida since he was originally tagged at Ironbound Island.
His last ping near Florida was west of the Florida Keys in the Gulf of Mexico back in June 2023, though his latest ping was in December 2023 of the coast of South Carolina.
No. 5: VIMY
- Weight: 1,637 pounds
- Length: 12 feet, 7 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: April 2022
Named after the Battle of Vimy Ridge during World War I, Vimy is the final shark tagged during OCEARCH’s 2019 expedition to Nova Scotia.
He was initially tagged near Lunenburg, though he has regularly migrated into the waters off Florida’s eastern coast.
Vimy was last pinged in April 2022, far off to the east of Palm Coast.
No. 6: BRETON
- Weight: 1,437 pounds
- Length: 13 feet, 3 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: January 2024
Breton was most recently found near Florida off the coast of Daytona Beach earlier this month.
He was the first shark tagged during OCEARCH’s 2020 Nova Scotia expedition, being named after the local city of Cape Breton.
Like many other great whites, Breton has been pinged near Florida several times throughout the past few years, typically making his way south during the colder months.
No. 7: IRONBOUND
- Weight: 1,189 pounds
- Length: 12 feet, 4 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: April 2023
Ironbound is the 53rd white shark tagged by OCEARCH in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, being sampled back in 2019.
He was named after West Ironbound Island near Lunenburg in Nova Scotia.
While his latest ping was last month, he was last seen near Florida in April 2023 while making his way northward up the coastline.
No. 8: EDITHE
- Weight: 1,185 pounds
- Length: 11 feet, 8 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: April 2021
In contrast to Breton, Edithe was actually the last shark tagged during OCEARCH’s 2020 expedition in Nova Scotia.
She was named by a master’s student from the University of Windsor, who was with OCEARCH’s expedition crew during the trip.
Specifically, Edithe was named after the student’s mother, OCEARCH says.
Her latest ping was in April 2021 in the Gulf of Mexico, far to the west of the Florida Keys.
No. 9: HILTON
- Weight: 1,086 pounds
- Length: 12 feet, 5 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: May 2018
Caught off the coast of Hilton Head in South Carolina back in 2017, Hilton was named after the local community, according to OCEARCH.
He was also tagged on the anniversary of Lydia, the second-largest shark on this list.
Hilton was last pinged near Florida to the east of Sebastian, though his latest ping was in March 2019 near South Carolina.
No. 10: SABLE
- Weight: 1,086 pounds
- Length: 12 feet, 5 inches
- Last Seen Near Florida: May 2018
Sable was a juvenile great white when she was tagged near Ironbound Island in Nova Scotia back in 2021.
She was named after the Sable Island National Park Preserve, which is located around 180 miles offshore of Halifax, near where she was tagged, OCEARCH reports.
Her latest ping was in January 2023 at the Gulf of Mexico, far to the south of Florida’s panhandle.
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