A 7-1/2 foot great white shark was caught on video by Florida Fish and Wildlife biologists off the Florida coast.
It was a "rare but thrilling sighting" for FWC scientists, the video's narrator says.
The juvenile white shark, estimated to be 13 years old, was filmed about 50 miles offshore of Tarpon Springs as FWC Fisheries-Independent Monitoring biologists conducted video surveys for the Gulf Fishery Independent Survey of Habitat and Ecosystem Resources. The group was using stereo-baited remote underwater video to record a 360-degree view of reef fish and nearby habitat, FWC wrote in a Facebook post.
Biologists identify, count and measure fish from over 1,000 videos collected each summer from natural and artificial reef habitats.
It's not uncommon for great white sharks to be in Florida waters.
North Atlantic great white sharks are known to leave their summer feeding grounds off Atlantic Canada and New England to head as far south as Florida and the Gulf, for warmer waters and more abundant food sources.
Here's what to know about great white sharks in Florida:
Are there great white sharks in Florida?
Yes. North Atlantic great white sharks are known to leave their summer feeding grounds off Atlantic Canada and New England to head as far south as Florida and the Gulf, for warmer waters and more abundant food sources.
Experts from OCEARCH, a shark advocacy group, said during the warmer months, these apex predators take advantage of the abundant seal populations and rich prey resources found in these areas. As temperatures drop and food sources dwindle, great white sharks are triggered by a combination of decreasing water temperatures and changes in daylight hours, prompting their southward migration.
Where in Florida are great white sharks found?
Great white sharks are found in every ocean, though they stay away from the colder waters of Antarctica and the Arctic.
They can be found around Florida's coast, from the state's east coast to the Gulf.
How many great white sharks are there?
There's no absolute data on the global population of white sharks and estimates vary widely – from 3,000 to over 10,000.
According to NOAA Fisheries:
What do great white sharks eat?
According to NOAA Fisheries, white sharks have a diverse and opportunistic diet of fish, invertebrates, and marine mammals.
Juvenile white sharks mainly eat bottom fish, smaller sharks and rays, schooling fish and squids.
Larger white sharks often gather around seal and sea lion colonies to feed and also occasionally scavenge dead whales.
Great white shark facts
Florida is still shark attack capital of the world. Where did Florida shark bites happen in 2024?
Florida is once again tops in the world for the number of unprovoked shark bites, even as the overall number of attacks declined in 2024.
An annual report by the International Shark Attack File (ISAF) shows 47 confirmed unprovoked shark bites globally, significantly lower than the average 64 annually over the previous five years.
The U.S. had the most bites at 28 compared to 36 bites in 2023, for 60% of the world's cases.
The Sunshine State racked up 14 confirmed bites, versus 19 in 2023, along its coastline, none of which were fatal. That's 30% of worldwide attacks.
Volusia County had the most shark bites with eight, more than half of the state total, and in line with the county's five-year annual average of nine.