By CATHERINE DONNELLY
Special to the PRESS
Many people tracking LeeBeth, the 14 foot 2,600-pound Great White shark (whose activities had experts so intrigued), breathed a sigh of relief for the vacationers coming to the island for a relaxing or exciting respite.
Her retreat away from SPI couldn’t have come a better time as Spring Breakers are arriving on South Padre Island by the carload to shuck their sweaters in exchange for their bikinis.
News of LeeBeth initially caused concerns locally when her tracker pinged near Brownsville on Wednesday, February 28, only 100 yards offshore. Since then, she has gone south, then turned back and proceeded north and east towards the Atlantic Ocean.
As of March 11, new shark fans might be relieved that she was pinged via satellite off the coast of Africa, just below Ghana and Nigeria, in the Gulf of Guinea near the islands of Sao Tome and Principe near the Equator.
Those interested in tracking tagged Great White sharks can use Sharktivity, a free shark activity tracker created by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy (AWSC). The application gathers verifiable data from researchers, safety officials, and the public. LeeBeth’s tagged fin emits a tracking signal when it surfaces above the water. Since her fin surfaces frequently, her movements and migration patterns are known.
Although Great Whites are considered apex predators, it is rare for them to be sighted near or cause problems for Texas beachgoers, especially west of the Mississippi.
According to the Houston Chronicle, the latest shark bite occurred in Corpus Christi in 2022.
According to Texas Monthly Magazine, in 1962, a shark had bitten a surf fisherman severely while he was carrying a stringer of fish around his waist, and he died near South Padre Island.
It’s important to know that sharks do frequent the area and to exercise caution, but overall, sharks are not generally a concern for local beachgoers.
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