Massive great white shark detected by researchers off Mississippi coast in rare Gulf migration

A massive great white shark was patrolling the waters just off Alabama’s coast in January — and now, off the coast of Mississippi.

Around the middle of January, the 12-foot, nearly 1,000-pound female shark, known as “Ernst,” was detected off the coast of Gulf Shores, Alabama, after her satellite tag pinged, researchers said.

That location a few weeks ago marked one of the westernmost points recorded for a great white shark in the Gulf and was considered unusual behavior, researchers told news agency SWNS.

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The ping placed the shark near the Chandeleur Islands, a chain of barrier islands in the Gulf of America off the coast of Louisiana.

Researchers said the shark’s proximity to shore was notable and that it falls outside what they typically observe for great white sharks in the region.

OCEARCH, a U.S.-based marine research group, tagged Ernst in October 2025 in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia.

After the tagging, Ernst began a long coastal migration, traveling thousands of miles from Canadian waters along the U.S. East Coast.

“She cut right over to lower Maine from Nova Scotia, migrated right down the coast, and has moved around Miami and the Keys and all the way beyond the Florida Panhandle,” Chris Fischer, founder and expedition leader of OCEARCH, told SWNS.

Fischer said Ernst’s movement westward is rare for great white sharks in the Gulf.

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“She has really moved into one of the farther parts of [where] we see them moving west,” Fischer said. “[For] the majority of the sharks, this is pretty far reach.”

Great white sharks are selective about where they travel, he added — tending to move through areas with abundant marine life.

“It’s kind of unusual to see her so tight to the beach there, which is a great sign for the region because this is a signal that there’s a lot of life and a lot of biodiversity,” Fischer said.

Ernst’s travel log on the OCEARCH site as of Sunday, Feb. 1, indicates the female shark pinged again on Jan. 30, around 6 a.m. that day, south of Horn Island off the Mississippi coast. (Researchers are able to note her location when the tag on her dorsal fin breaches the surface of the water, as noted on the site.)

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“Ernst the shark carries forward [a] spirit of connection, resilience and teamwork that keeps both island life and ocean research moving forward,” the organization says on its site as it continues tracking her. 

OCEARCH tracks other great white sharks across the Atlantic and Gulf of America using satellite tags.

The female shark pinged again on Jan. 30.

Fox News Digital recently reported that Contender, the Atlantic’s largest recorded male great white shark, returned to Florida waters in January 2026, one year after being tagged.

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After traveling as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the 14-foot, 1,700-pound shark resurfaced in warmer coastal waters, a movement researchers said could be tied to great white shark mating activity.