A massive great white shark has been detected off the coast of Florida this week, just ahead of the expected busy spring break season. According to the Global Shark Tracker of OCEARCH, Maple, a great white shark, was detected on Monday morning southeast of St. George Island, Florida, in the Gulf Of Mexico. Maple is 11-feet, 7-inches long and weighs a whopping 1,264 pounds.

Maple has reportedly been spending much of her winter in the Gulf of Mexico over the past two seasons, as noted by OCEARCH. The shark was named after the maple leaf, a national emblem of Canada. Interestingly, Maple has a unique wound on the left side of her body which the team believes is due to an interaction with another larger white shark.

"It is not unusual for sharks to assert their dominance over a smaller animal of their species by delivering a significant but non-fatal bite," said OCEARCH.

On the other hand, another great white shark, Tancook, was detected on Tuesday just after 9:30 a.m. several miles east of Amelia Island. The shark weighs around 715 pounds and measures 9-feet, 9-inches long. The OCEARCH team tagged Tancook in 2021 when they met him off West Ironbound Island just south of Tancook Island. Tancook was named after the phrase "facing the open sea."

"We're excited to gain more insight into the open sea as we continue to track Tancook's movements," said OCEARCH.

OCEARCH is a global non-profit organization committed to conducting unprecedented research on the ocean's giants to help scientists gather previously unattainable data. The organization aims to accelerate the ocean's return to balance and abundance through innovative scientific research, education, outreach, and policy, leveraging the collaborations of individuals and organizations in the U.S. and worldwide.

The detection of two massive great white sharks off Florida's coast, Maple and Tancook, is a reminder of the importance of ocean conservation. With organizations like OCEARCH conducting groundbreaking research and collecting invaluable data, we are one step closer to preserving the ocean's balance and abundance. As we head into the spring break season, it is important to remember to respect marine life and their natural habitats.

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Sixgill shark carcass, its liver ‘surgically removed’ by orcas (Photo: Christine Wessels/MarineDynamics)

In the waters off the coast of South Africa, two orcas were recently observed engaging in a remarkable feat: they hunted and killed 19 sharks in just one day. The orcas not only killed the sharks, but they also ate their livers and left the rest of the carcasses to rot.

This behavior is extremely rare and has left many researchers and marine biologists scratching their heads. What could be behind this unprecedented attack? 

Orcas, also known as killer whales, are apex predators that can be found in all of the world's oceans. They are the largest member of the dolphin family and are known for their intelligence, communication skills, and complex social structures.

Orcas are also known to be opportunistic hunters, meaning they will eat whatever prey is available to them. Their diet can include fish, seals, sea lions, and even other whales. However, this recent attack on sharks is particularly unusual.

 A male and female orca pair named Port and Starboard, notorious for their previous eight great white shark killings, recently attacked 19 broadnose sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus), devouring their livers before leaving their carcasses to wash ashore on the southernmost coast of South Africa near Pearly Beach. This puzzling onslaught captured the attention of Alison Kock, a marine biologist at South African National Parks, who tweeted about the orcas' infamy and the frenzy that unfolded on February 23.

Orcas, Port and Starboard. Named for the direction in which their dorsal fins fall (Photo: Christine Wessels/MarineDynamics)

This marks the latest event in a series of shark attacks by the duo in the area. During their past sprees, the orcas consumed only the livers of their victims, an action that helped them become more proficient hunters. Sharks' livers are high in nutrients, such as fats and vitamins, which provide orcas with the energy they need. As such, they may have learned to consume these organs, which are easier to locate as they are large and buoyant, often floating to the water's surface upon the shark's death.

Orcas often hunt in pairs or groups, giving them an edge over their prey. One orca might distract the shark, allowing the other to attack. The intelligence and social cooperation required to carry out this technique is impressive. The orcas can also use their massive tails to flip sharks, rendering them motionless.

Such behavior has been observed in various locations worldwide, including South America, North America, Australia, and New Zealand. However, these attacks have only recently become more frequent among sevengill and great white sharks in South Africa. The death of so many sharks in a single day raises concerns about the consequences of this predation on the local ecosystem.

Kock believes that the orcas' expertise stems from experience, allowing them to remember where the liver is located in a shark and becoming more proficient over time. This expertise, coupled with the orcas' ability to work together, results in highly effective hunting techniques. The consequences of these hunts may be more far-reaching than the death toll of the sharks themselves. The absence of these top predators could lead to significant changes in the ecosystem.

Examining a shark carcass washed up on the beach.(Photo: Hennie Otto/Marine Dynamics)

Possible Explanations

There are several possible explanations for why these orcas carried out such a brutal attack on the sharks:

1. Food Shortage
One possibility is that the orcas were struggling to find enough food in their usual hunting grounds. Sharks are a relatively easy prey for orcas, and the livers are a particularly nutrient-rich part of the animal. It's possible that the orcas were simply taking advantage of a food source that they don't normally target.

2. Environmental Changes
Another possibility is that environmental changes have caused a disruption in the orcas' usual food sources. Overfishing, pollution, and climate change can all impact the availability of prey for marine animals. It's possible that the orcas were forced to adapt their hunting tactics in order to survive.

3. Social Learning
Orcas are known for their ability to learn from one another. It's possible that the orcas learned this hunting technique from another pod or group of orcas. This would explain why this behavior is so rare, as it may only be present in a small subset of the overall orca population.

4. Playful Behavior
Finally, it's possible that the orcas were simply playing. Orcas are known for their playful nature and are often seen engaging in what appears to be "play" behavior. It's possible that the orcas were simply having fun and not necessarily targeting the sharks for food.

The Impact on the Ecosystem

While this attack may seem shocking, it's important to remember that all species play a role in the ecosystem. Orcas are apex predators, meaning they are at the top of the food chain. By targeting sharks, the orcas may be helping to regulate the shark population and ensure that the overall ecosystem remains healthy.

However, it's also possible that this attack could have unintended consequences. Sharks play an important role in the ocean ecosystem, and their absence could have ripple effects throughout the food chain.

NASA, in collaboration with international space agencies from France, Canada, and the United Kingdom, has recently launched a cutting-edge satellite called the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) that will revolutionize our understanding of the world's water. The state-of-the-art device, roughly the size of an SUV, will scan and map oceans, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs, providing scientists with invaluable information about climate-related changes such as hurricane damage, rising seas, and disappearing coastlines.

Using a cloud-penetrating radar, SWOT will scan nearly 90% of the planet's water, with the exception of the poles, to create high-resolution maps. According to Tamlin Pavelsky, the hydrology science lead for the SWOT team, the device can image lakes larger than 15 acres and rivers wider than 330 feet, allowing it to survey millions of lakes and trace approximately 1.3 million miles of rivers. Many of these water bodies are difficult to access by land, making them data-poor.

One of the key advantages of SWOT is its ability to simultaneously measure the extent and height of water, providing a new dimension critical for understanding changes in volume over time. Pavelsky explains that this is made possible by SWOT's Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), which sends a 1.5-kilowatt radar pulse to the ground and reads the reflected signal with two antennae at the end of a 33-foot boom. The slight difference between the initial and reflected signals allows the KaRIn to determine the height of water with centimeter accuracy from a distance of almost 900 kilometers away from the surface, improving accuracy by a factor of 100 over existing satellites.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech: This animation shows how SWOT will collect data over the state of Florida, which is rich with rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Globally, SWOT will measure the height of water in the ocean and in lakes, rivers, and reservoirs on land. 

SWOT will orbit the entire planet and repeat its imaging of every place every 21 days during its three-year mission. By comparing such images, scientists can interpret how water cover is changing over time, providing invaluable information for understanding water availability for crop irrigation in rural areas, measuring the extent of flooding events, and assessing climate vulnerability in developing nations.

The precise satellite data will also help quantify and illustrate the future of sea-level rise, floods, and droughts across the globe. Ben Hamlington, a sea-level rise scientist and SWOT science team member at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), notes that the satellite record has shown a rapid increase in sea-level rise along US coastlines over the past three decades. However, he argues that the data means we are not doomed and can use the new information to fend off the most extreme projected outcomes. "Reducing emissions takes some of the higher projections of sea-level rise off the table," he says. "If we can limit warming going forward, we can avoid worst-case scenarios."

The SWOT satellite is a remarkable achievement that will help us better understand and manage the world's water resources. Its high-resolution maps and precise data will provide scientists with invaluable information about climate-related changes, allowing us to make informed decisions about water use, crop irrigation, flood control, and climate mitigation efforts.

For years, Isla Guadalupe in Mexico has been a much sought-after destination for shark enthusiasts. However, this dream has come to an end with the permanent closure of the Great White Shark cage diving site to tourism.

The Mexican Government announced the ban on "all tourism activities, and film and TV productions at Isla Guadalupe" on January 10, citing conservation concerns as the primary reason. This ban expands on an already-existing suspension from May to December 2022 on cage diving and sport fishing in the same area. The initial closure aimed to "gather information that will guide activities and the adoption of the best sustainability practices that guarantee the conservation of the aforementioned populations," according to a statement issued by the Mexican Government.

The new Management Plan for Guadalupe specifies that "White Shark observation may not be carried out in the Reserve for tourist purposes, to avoid altering [sharks'] habitat, behavior and feeding sites, and thereby preserve and conserve the species."

However, local tour operators and some shark advocates have expressed concerns about the closure. They argue that the absence of dive tourists may result in more harm to shark populations, despite good intentions. According to critics, liveaboards that visited the protected waters served as an effective physical deterrent to poachers and illegal fishing activities. Operators were present on an almost-permanent basis throughout the six-month season when Great Whites migrate to Isla Guadalupe each year. They brought tourists, which helped to keep poachers and fishermen out.

With the new ban, these tour operators and liveaboards are effectively out of business, and the local economy, which relies heavily on shark tourism, will suffer.

Horizon Charters, one of the original Great White Shark cage diving liveaboards in the area, issued a statement saying, "As it stands, there is no mechanism that will magically reopen Guadalupe, no legal challenge, no petition, or pressure campaign. It is closed."

The operator also pointed out that there are no provisions in the new management plan to protect the 400+ Great White Sharks that they've come to know and love. These particular sharks are the "main breeding animals" for most of the waters from Hawaii to Washington State, the entire coast of California, Baja, and the Sea of Cortez, the operator continued.

"The loss of these animals to illegal fishing could potentially collapse the entire white shark population in the Eastern Pacific," the shop added. "As such, it is imperative that Mexico set aside the manpower and funding necessary to protect these animals each and every season moving forward."

As the reopening of Guadalupe remains uncertain, Horizon Charters has decided to refund all bookings for the upcoming season.

The closure of Isla Guadalupe may be a blow to shark enthusiasts, but it is also a reminder of the need for sustainable tourism practices to protect our planet's precious marine life.