Great white tracked off the coast near Myrtle Beach area. Here’s where it was located
A more than 8 1/2 foot shark has been hanging out in the ocean off the coast of Pawleys Island, according to OCEARCH’s tracker.
The great white shark named Jekyll is a juvenile, weighing in at nearly 400 pounds. This species of shark can live up to 70 years, grow up to 21 feet long and weigh up to 4,500 pounds, according to NOAA fisheries.
He was tagged in December 2022 by OCEARCH, a nonprofit dedicated to collecting data on sharks and other aquatic species.
OCEARCH said that after spending most of their summer in the Atlantic in Canada, the sharks are starting to head south for their winter residency.
As a predator at the top of the food chain, sharks are more curious about their surroundings than fearful. If you end up near a shark, try to exit the water calmly and quickly. Avoid splashing as that may draw the shark’s attention to you.
This story was originally published November 14, 2023 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Great white tracked off the coast near Myrtle Beach area. Here’s where it was located."
