Katharine the shark pings to east of Daytona Beach

Katharine, the great white shark who was reportedly swimming toward the Sarasota area earlier this month, pinged earlier today to the east of Daytona Beach.

Mote Marine Laboratory scientists tagged the young female shark aboard the M/V OCEARCH in August 2013 as part of “Expedition Cape Cod” off of Cape Cod, Mass. The 14-foot, 2,300-pound shark was named Katharine in honor of Katharine Lee Bates, a Cape Cod native and songwriter who is best known for her poem and song “America the Beautiful.”

Sharks on the M/V OCEARCH were lifted onto a special platform and fitted with a fine-scale motion sensor and long-lasting satellite transmitter to monitor their positions.

Since August, Katharine has traveled from Cape Cod past the southern tip of the Florida peninsula, then began swimming west in the Gulf of Mexico toward Texas before changing her path and swimming east toward Sarasota. However, in the past two weeks, Katharine apparently changed her path and went to the Florida Keys before swimming north in the Atlantic Ocean.

Track Katharine’s movements at Ocearch.com for real-time updates.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected].