Hilton Head’s first great white shark of the season is on the move. Here’s where she’s gone
Hilton Head Island’s first great white shark of the season, Freeman, who was tagged on Nov. 30 by local fisherman and shark expert Chip Michalove, has already completed a long journey south.
As one of the earliest sightings recorded in Hilton Head waters by Michalove of Outcast Sport Fishing, here’s where she’s traveled so far this season and which other great whites are currently swimming off the South Carolina coast.
Freeman’s journey
Tracking data from Sharktivity, a tracking app by the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy, shows Freeman initially traveled south, swimming along the Georgia coast, before returning up to Charleston.
She then spent some time swimming off the coast of Hilton Head and Charleston in early January — noting an interesting shift back north — before making the trek down to Florida.
Her most recent ping occurred Jan. 27 off the coast of Melbourne, about 350 miles from Hilton Head’s waters.
Michalove and his team noted in a post on Facebook that with cooler temperatures on the way, she may venture even further and possibly into the Gulf. Back in 2024, Michalove saw a similar travel pattern with great white, LeeBeth, who journeyed all the way to Mexico.
Another great white shark tagged and tracked this season by Michalove and his team was Knox, who last pinged on Dec. 31 outside of North Charleston.
The most recent tag by the team occurred Jan. 13, just outside of Charleston. Now, they’re waiting to see where he’ll turn up next.
What other sharks are out swimming?
Several other great white sharks have also recently pinged off the South Carolina coast from OCEARCH, an ocean research nonprofit that monitors hundreds of marine animals.
Goodall, a new visitor to the Palmetto State, is a 13-foot-1-inch, 1,393-pound female. She last pinged on Jan. 26 just north of Charleston.
Cross, a 9-foot-1-inch, 377-pound juvenile male, last pinged Jan. 24 near Myrtle Beach and has been swimming around this area since December.
Great white sharks typically remain off the coast of Hilton Head through March.
Folks can keep an eye on the sharks tagged by Outcast Sport Fishing through the Sharktivity app, as well as other sharks like Cross and Goodall, using the OCEARCH online tracker.
This story was originally published January 29, 2026 at 4:30 AM.
