US Scientists from Ocearch have successfully tracked via GPS the first deadly great white shark ever recorded crossing the Atlantic Ocean, and is currently on course to reach the shores of Ireland.
This is the first time scientists have ever witnessed this species take such a journey. Lydia as she’s been named, has swum 248 miles in the last 72 hours and is currently less than 800 miles away from Britain.
Ocearch scientists and marine biologists have been tracking the female shark for at least 19,000 miles after she began swimming across the Atlantic from the coast of Florida. The great white has swam almost 400 miles in the last 3 days.
Lydia, the great white shark, was initially tagged in March of 2013, near Jacksonville. Since then, she has swam in total more than 31,000 km and is currently, more than 3,000 miles away from where she was initially tracked.
Even though it’s hard to predict what will be her next move, we can guess that this massive one-tone great white shark could well end up on our coasts pretty soon. However, as our weather is still not hot enough for her, she is quite likely to meander and divert. It could take her days or even months to arrive here, or she may not even arrive here at all if she does change her path.
Ocearch scientists are hoping to tag more great white sharks to be able to continue to learn more about their movements, migration and navigational habits.
Lydia is just one of 70 great white sharks that The Ocearch project is currently tracking to help them gather as much information as possible.
