A diver shared a close encounter with a 20-foot long, pregnant great white shark while exploring the Breaker Reef off Florida’s East Coast.
Jim Cocci, along with 10 other divers, was on a group charter when he captured a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of swimming next to the massive creature last week.
Because this was the first time the shark had been spotted in the area, researchers gave Cocci the honor of naming the newly discovered fish.
He chose ‘Colleen’ after his wife and shared the announcement in a Facebook post that read, ‘Our ‘new’ shark has been entered into the database and is named ‘Colleen’ after my loving wife, very best friend and greatest dive buddy – ever! Happy Valentine’s Day, Honey!!’
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A diver shared a close encounter with a 20-foot long, pregnant great white shark while exploring the Breaker Reef off Florida’s East Coast. Jim Cocci, along with 10 other divers, were on a group charter when he captured a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of swimming next to the massive creature last week
Cocci was diving with the Walker’s Dive Charters last week and on the second day, February 11th, he spotted the massive great white.
‘It appeared out of the dark blue haze like an apparition — and it was massive,’ Cocci told FLORIDA TODAY.
He continued to explain that the shark swam away before anyone could reach for their cameras, by came back around, allowing divers to get another look.
After the diver, Cocci notified the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Shark Research Program of the sighting, which scoured through its database of 120 known great whites in the area.
Because this was the first time the shark had been spotted in the area, researchers gave Cocci (left) the honor of naming the newly discovered fish. He chose to name his wife Colleen (right) in honor of Valentine’s Day
Cocci was diving with the Walker’s Dive Charters last week and on the second day, February 11th, he spotted the massive great white. ‘It appeared out of the dark blue haze like an apparition — and it was massive,’ Cocci told FLORIDA TODAY
However, following their investigation, the organization discovered that this shark had not been ‘known’ prior to the sighting on February 11th.
The program contacted Cocci and gave him the honor of naming the shark for its database. Cocci chose to name it after his wife and best friend of the past 37 years — Colleen.
Cocci wrote this on his Facebook page: ‘Announcement! Our recently documented Great White shark has been determined by the Massachusetts Shark Research Program to be a new discovery.’
‘Our ‘new’ shark has been entered into the database and is named ‘Colleen’ after my loving wife, very best friend and greatest dive buddy ever! Happy Valentine’s Day, Honey!!’
Great white sightings have been occurring more and more, as also last week, a shark tracker spotted a ground huddled off the coast of the Carolinas.
After the diver, Cocci notified the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Shark Research Program of the sighting, which scoured through its database of 120 known great whites in the area
However, following their investigation, the organization discovered that this shark had not been ‘known’ prior to the sighting on February 11th
Great white sightings have been occurring more and more, as also last week, a shark tracker spotted a ground huddled off the coast of the Carolinas (pictured)
The sharks range from eight feet to nearly 13 feet long and some weigh over 1,000 pounds, and have been congregating in this location since last month.
The map also shows a big gap where the sharks are pinging right now, as the next grouping is located pass the tip of Florida and into the Gulf of Mexico – leaving experts baffled to why there is a large grouping in the northeast.
Several people have commented on the sighting, suggesting a combination of a good food supply and temperate water could be the reason for the cluster.
‘The body of colder water trapped between the Gulf Stream and the coast is a key feature of this region,’ OCEARCH collaborating scientist Bryan Franks, Assistant Professor of Marine Science at Jacksonville University, said in a statement.
‘This feature results in a range of water temperatures in a relatively short horizontal distance from the coast out to the Gulf Stream.’
‘In addition, there is the potential for abundant prey in the migrating populations along the coastlines and in the dynamic mixing zone on the Stream edge.’