Great White Shark Spotted Off Alabama Coast (2024)

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Great White Shark Spotted Off Alabama Coast? ›

(WKRG) — In the University of South Alabama's “first documented sighting” off the coast of Alabama, researchers have found Miss Pawla, a juvenile great white shark. Researchers from the University of South Alabama recorded the first sighting of Miss Pawla while monitoring the state's artificial reef zone.

And though the fish was a juvenile, at around 11 feet in length, it is still a record-setting. That's because the fish is believed to be first-ever great white shark caught by a land-based fisherman in Alabama.

White sharks are large bulky fishes with a body shaped like a blunt torpedo. They have a sharply pointed conical snout, large pectoral and dorsal fins, and a strong crescent-shaped tail. Only the belly of white sharks is whitish. They have a contrasting pattern of dark blue, gray, or brown on their back and sides.

The largest great white recognized by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is one caught by Alf Dean in southern Australian waters in 1959, weighing 1,208 kg (2,663 lb).

The Largest Great White Shark on Record

See, as recently as a couple of centuries ago, people reported white sharks exceeding 30 feet, but none that large have been observed in the modern era. Those reports are generally considered to have been exaggerations.

Sharks come in all sizes. The largest is the whale shark, which has been known to get as large as 18 meters (60 feet). The smallest fits in your hand. And the great white shark is somewhere in the middle.

Killer “whales,” which are actually dolphins, are apex predators, and their diet includes fish, squid, seals, sea birds and whales larger than themselves, according to the Natural History Museum in London. They are the only known predators of great white sharks.

Are great white sharks endangered? The IUCN lists the great white shark as vulnerable and its population trend as decreasing. Their numbers and ranges are very difficult to track, but we do know that they are threatened by poaching and fishing practices.

How old do white sharks get and how often do they reproduce? White sharks are long-lived; a recent study at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution determined white sharks can live to be 40 to 70 years old. They do not reproduce for the first several years.

While Deep Blue may be one of the largest fish in the ocean, these creatures can still be elusive and NOAA estimates a great white shark lifespan to be around 30-70 years so there's every chance Deep Blue is still alive and well in the ocean to this day.

What is the most aggressive shark? ›

1: Great White. You don't become the subject of a movie like "Jaws" without being dangerous in real life as well. Indeed, the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) leads all other sharks in attacks on people and boats, as well as fatalities.

Is the megalodon still alive? 'No. It's definitely not alive in the deep oceans, despite what the Discovery Channel has said in the past,' notes Emma. 'If an animal as big as megalodon still lived in the oceans we would know about it.

7: Size comparison of the different white shark life stages. A newborn white sharks is 4-5 ft (1.5-2 m), a juvenile 6-9 ft (2-3 m), and a adult white shark (3-6 m). Two nursery areas have been identified for white sharks in the Eastern North Pacific Ocean: southern California and Vizcaino Bay, Baja CA, Mexico.

It is a common misconception that sharks as a species never sleep because they must keep moving to stay alive. Sharks do engage in periods of rest throughout the day, but it is much different from the kind of sleep that other animals engage in.

Range. The white shark occurs worldwide in temperate and subtropical waters, often migrating seasonally to follow its preferred temperature range (approximately 50 to 80 °F). In the U.S. Atlantic, they range from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Caribbean.

Although great white sharks are becoming common in other areas of the U.S., such as New England and California, it is extremely rare to spot them off Alabama, Sean Powers, the director of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences said in a statement.

Posted by OCEARCH on X. It's hard to say whether this activity is unusual or new, Winton said. Historical sightings and catch records seem to suggest that great whites have always been present in the Gulf.

Alabama. Shark attacks are rare in Alabama. There have only been 10 shark attacks in its waters since 1926.

His largest monster, a 17-foot Great White Shark weighing 3,427 pounds, in some record books still remains the largest fish ever caught by rod and reel.