New Great White shark appears off South Carolina coast

The 3,456-pound great white shark Mary Lee is continuing to feed in the waters of the Lowcountry, but another great white, Genie, is getting closer to Mary Lee’s shoreside buffet.

At about 9:30 a.m. today, a $1,000 GPS device bolted to Mary Lee’s fin pinged about 12 miles off the coast of Edisto Beach. At a little after noon, the slightly smaller and slimmer Genie pinged 20 miles off the coast of Hilton Head and Tybee islands.

The continental shelf from North Carolina to Florida is an important wintering ground for creatures up and down the food chain. But with her GPS transmitter, Mary Lee has gotten more attention than your average fish. It’s the first great white to be tracked using a GPS device that provides real-time locational data.

The shark first showed up off Isle of Palms in early November and might have nosed into Charleston Harbor. It also hugged the shore in Myrtle Beach.

Genie was about 50 miles south of Mary Lee. At 2,292 pounds and 14 feet, 8 inches long, Genie is not as hefty as Mary Lee, but scientists with the OCEARCH team considered her an important catch when they first tagged her in September. It was the first time in North Atlantic waters that the group had successfully placed an accelerometer on a great white in the Cape Cod, Massachusetts area, the group said in its blog.