As temperatures drop up north, many people head south. They're not alone: sharks head for warmer weather too.
"Nova the Great White" is in the area.
His satellite tracker pinged him four days ago off the coast of Sarasota.
Nova is 11-feet and six inches long. He weighs 1,186 pounds.
He's 150 miles off Sarasota's coast.
“None of them come close to shore…nothing to worry about as far as beachgoers…they all tend to stay out on the Florida shelf or slope," Dr. Bob Hueter, a shark researcher at Mote Marine Laboratory, said.
Hueter helped tag this Great White three months ago off the coast of Nova Scotia on a long-term expedition with Ocearch.
On the ship, the crew took dozens of samples to assess the shark's health. Heuter described it as "a religious experience."
Nova is the first of seven sharks tagged in that trip to make the 2,000-mile trip south for the winter.
“The fact that he’s in the Gulf of Mexico a bit early might reflect the water temperature,” Hueter explained. “He’s a bit early, a bit young, probably good feeding out there.”
Hueter says Nova’s trip south also shows both countries are connected by this top predator. He says they need to work together to protect it from overfishing and keep the oceans in check.
“A lot of prey they feed on is out of balance…like seals,” Hueter said. “By understanding the status of them...we can use them as a way to measure the health our oceans are in.”
The shark’s satellite tag lasts five years, and each one has its own Twitter account.
Ocearch and partnering scientists are part of a long-term study to tag 60 sharks. So far, 40 have been tagged. The next trip is in February off Puerto Rico.
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