More sharks in Jacksonville beaches area could mean they're breeding

Two sharks, both over 12 feet in length, are swimming off the coast of northeast Florida.

Tiger shark Harry Etta pinged Monday morning at 7 a.m. off the coast of Crescent Beach, just south of St. Augustine.

White shark Hilton pinged Sunday at 7 p.m. in between Fernandina Beach and Jacksonville Beach.

“I think it’s rather exciting,” beachgoer Hanna Thomas said. Thomas is very interested in the sharks.

“Is it too cold for them to be out in the further water?” she asked. We brought that question to Shark expert and University of North Florida associate professor of biology Jim Gelsleichter.

“We do know the white sharks regularly make their way south here to Florida,” he said. Gelsleichter said some sharks are better at staying warm than others.

“The white sharks, the makos and the thrasher are capable of raising their core temperature higher of the ambient temperature,” said Gelsleichter.

We also asked if the Sharks may be here to mate, and experts said they're studying that right now by testing the shark's blood.

“UNF, in particular, has been measuring hormone levels to try to assess the reproductive biology of these animals,” Gelsleichter said.

He said there’s still more research to do but he believes that breeding activity does occurs between fall and spring.

Cox Media Group