Shark mysteriously returns 11 months after vanishing in Gulf of Mexico, tracking shows

A 10-foot great white shark that vanished off satellite tracking 11 months ago has mysteriously resurfaced in the Gulf of Mexico off the Mississippi Sound.

That puts Crystal, as she is known to researchers, near the Mississippi-Alabama state line.

The nonprofit OCEARCH reports the shark’s tracking tag was located just after 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10, along the Continental Shelf.

She had eluded detection since Jan. 23, when the tag pinged near the mouth of the Mississippi River, data shows.

It remains a mystery where she disappeared to, but experts believe great white sharks migrate up the East Coast to New England during the summer.

To show up on satellite tracking, a tag on the dorsal fin needs to be above the surface for at least 90 seconds, OCEARCH reports.

Crystal is an anomaly among the 90-plus white sharks tagged by OCEARCH in the northwest Atlantic. Only six have ventured west of the Mississippi River during their seasonal migration, OCEARCH told McClatchy News.

It remains a mystery why some keep going west. In 2023, a white shark named Caroline set a record when she was tracked as far as Veracruz, Mexico, data shows.

Crystal was tagged off North Carolina in March 2022 and has since traveled 4,272 miles, making it as far north as Nova Scotia, OCEARCH reports.

The tracking program has proven white sharks in the Northwest Atlantic make summer treks south along the East Coast. It’s suspected the motives include warmer water to the south and better prey.

However, OCEARCH also believes a mating ground is found off North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The sharks mate in the area, then females head east into deeper Atlantic waters while they gestate, researchers theorize.

This story was originally published December 13, 2024 at 7:29 AM with the headline "Shark mysteriously returns 11 months after vanishing in Gulf of Mexico, tracking shows."