Shark Week: Where is LeeBeth, 2,600-pound great white that visited MS waters, spending it?
'She's been quite the ambassador for the species because she pinged so much along the way and in places where people didn't think white sharks were.'
Brian BroomThis week is The Discovery Channel's Shark Week, but where LeeBeth — a 14-foot, 2,600-pound great white that has reached celebrity status in recent months — is spending it isn't exactly known.
"The last we heard from her, she pinged in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Prince Edward Island — all the way up in Canada," said Megan Winton, research scientist at the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy. "It's been a heck of a journey. She's an international traveler, for sure."
LeeBeth was caught in December 2023 by Ed Young, pastor of the Dallas-Fort Worth mega-church Fellowship Church. Young was fishing with Chip Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing based in South Carolina. Young named the shark after his daughter who died in 2021.
LeeBeth was outfitted with data collection devices including a GPS tag that transmits her location whenever she breaches the surface.
Great white shark LeeBeth immediately impresses researchers
She immediately stood out. LeeBeth began breaching the surface more than any other great white the organization has tagged, providing a clear picture of her travels.
And her travels have been record-breaking. She swam south to the tip of Florida and then hugged the coastline into Mexico; farther west than any other tagged Atlantic great white shark. Then she took the same basic path back and swam near Mississippi waters about 20 miles south of Biloxi along the way.
Her most recent location came on July 3 and made her the first tagged great white to track from Mexico to Canada.
"She has gone well over 6,000 miles at this point and that's straight-line distance," Winton said. "It was amazing to see how fast she cruised the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and Canada."
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LeeBeth reaches celebrity status
There is likely very little argument that LeeBeth is the most written about shark of the century. Stories began appearing soon after she was caught and haven't stopped as she continues to make a journey like none recorded before.
And the interest in her hasn't stopped, either.
"I've got to say, she's kind of a shark celebrity at this point, which is awesome" Winton said. "She has been quite the ambassador for the species because she pinged so much along the way and in places where people didn't think white sharks were.
"When she was in the Gulf of Mexico, that blew people's minds. She's kind of shed light on the migratory patterns of the species in a lot of different ways."
Where will LeeBeth go next?
Her last known location came on July 3, but that wasn't her last transmission. Winton said LeeBeth has surfaced and sent signals, but she didn't surface long enough to send a location. So it's unknown where she is as well as where she'll go.
If LeeBeth swims north, she may reach the Labrador Sea, which Winton said would place her near the northern-most point of where Atlantic great white sharks have been tracked.
"I'm kind of waiting with bated breath to see where she pings next," Winton said. "She is close to the northern record."
How long will researchers be able to track LeeBeth?
LeeBeth has been providing researchers with information that is valuable in learning about white sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, but all good things come to an end. Fortunately, that end probably won't come for a while.
The shark was outfitted with four devices. One was a video camera that recorded the first few hours after her release. Another is the GPS transmitter that Winton said will lose power and go silent sometime this year. However, until that happens, fans can watch her movements on the Sharktivity app.
There's also another device that collects other data such as depths that will at some point release, float to the surface and transmit the recorded data.
The final device is an acoustic transmitter. It will communicate whenever it nears acoustic receivers that are located in the water by various research groups. Its life expectancy is 10 years.
"That's going to be a great source of information in the future," Winton said. "That acoustic tag will help us track her for hopefully the next decade."
Do you have a story idea? Contact Brian Broom at 601-961-7225 or bbroom@gannett.com.