“Encountering Two Giant Great White Sharks Near Volusia and Brevard Counties”

Two massive great white sharks have been spending the first few weeks of the New Year swimming in waters off the coast of Brevard and Volusia Counties.

According to the OCEARCH Shark Tracker, “Breton” – who weighs over 1,400 pounds – was pinged off of the coast of Volusia County on Saturday around 4:10 p.m.

“Breton is the first shark tagged during OCEARCH’s Expedition Nova Scotia 2020 and is named for all of the wonderful people of Cape Breton where he was tagged,” read OCEARCH’s bio on the shark who measured 13 feet, 3 inches long.

He pinged on Jan. 5 near the Blake Ridge in the Atlantic before pinging again on Saturday in the Blake Plateau, a which lies roughly 80 to 200 miles off the coast, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Not to be outdone, “Bob” – a 1,300 pound great white – pinged even closer to shore near Brevard County on Jan. 4.

Bob, who comes in at 13 feet, 4 inches long, was named after OCEARCH’s former chief scientist Dr. Robert Hueter, a “pioneer in shark science for over 40 years.” He was originally tagged on Sept. 2021 at Ironbound Island, Nova Scotia.

And in December, another large great white named “Penny” pinged off the coast of Brevard County. She was first tagged in April 2023 off the coast of North Carolina and has since traveled close to 9,000 miles, according to OCEARCH.

According to OCEARCH, the great whites make their way down the east coast of the U.S. in the fall “with many heading towards the warmer waters off the southeastern U.S., particularly around the Carolinas, Georgia, and northeast Florida where they spend part of the winter.”

The organization has tagged over 400 different animals, including multiple different species of sharks, sea turtles and whales.