Freya, Ironbound, Ulysses: These great white sharks are swimming near eastern N.C. beaches

As summer kicks into high gear, nearby coasts could see an increase in great white shark sightings, and some already have.

Just over a month ago, two tagged great whites were pinged just off the coast of Onslow Bay. David Behringer, fisheries biologist for the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, said great white sharks live in all of the world's oceans, but in the northwest Atlantic, they follow seasonal migrations.

"In the summer, they are found most often in New England waters, and in the winter, they are found mostly off of Florida," Behringer said. "In the spring and fall, these sharks are moving northward and southward, so, this is the time of year they are most often in N.C. waters."

Beach Safety: Nine years after Onslow teen drowns, officials urge residents to watch for rip currents

Behringer added there is some research that suggests great white shark populations in the northwest Atlantic have been increasing since the 1990s, which is when a number of conservation measures were implemented.

He said water temperature seems to be the primary driver of great white sharks' seasonal movements.

"Prey availability, which is often correlated with water temperature, also influences shark movement," Behringer said. "White sharks spend a lot of their time in deeper waters along the continental shelf, but can be found closer to shore."

Although recent pings have shown great white sharks to be fairly far off the coast, they may still be too close for comfort for coastal residents.

According to research from Ocearch, Ulysses, a nearly 12-foot great white at 990 pounds, pinged about 239 miles off of Onslow Bay on May 17. However, Ulysses was a mere 27 miles off the coast of Onslow just weeks earlier.

Ocearch, according to its website, is a global non-profit organization conducting unprecedented research on our ocean's giants in order to help scientists collect previously unattainable data in the ocean.

Another large white shark who has recently been hanging out in the area, is 12'4" Ironbound, who weighs about 998 pounds. Ironbound, according to Ocearch's shark tracker, was north of Onslow Bay in May, leaving late in the month for the Gulf of Mexico.

However, Ironbound has a history of hanging extremely close to Onslow's beaches, especially in 2020, pinging about 27 miles off the coast.

One great white was named for her location to the North Carolina coast just last year, having been tagged just 20 miles off the coast of Onslow.

Since, Freya has spent a lot of time in the area, pinging just over 30 miles off the same coast in February.

Ocearch says Freya, which translates to "Noble Woman," got her name from Sea World, (Ocearch's partner) and she was "named in homage to the noble women researchers on both Expedition Carolinas and on all past research expeditions who are working to uncover crucial shark insights related to their species' conservation."

More: Onslow's beach accesses ready for summer: What to know about parking, amenities and more

Sharks also hanging close to Atlantic, Emerald Isle beaches

When these great whites aren't splashing around close to Onslow's beaches, they're traveling northward and southward, as Behringer said, some coming mighty close to other local coasts like Atlantic and Emerald Isle beaches.

Crystal, a ten foot 460 pound great white was tagged about 32 miles off the coast in Onslow Bay in March, in the direction of Emerald Isle and Atlantic Beach. She was named after North Carolina's crystal coast.

Ulysses, Freya, and Ironbound have made their ways to the area on occasion also.

For those concerned about the sharks pinging off local coasts, N.C. Sea Grant has an informational brochure available. The brochure quotes the director of the International Shark Attack File, George Burgess, who says that although a shark attack is a potential danger for anyone frequenting marine waters, the risk should be kept in perspective.

He says on the list of potential dangers encountered in aquatic recreation, sharks are at the bottom of the list.

The International Shark Attack File is the world’s only scientifically documented, comprehensive database of all known shark attacks, according to its website, and was initiated in 1958.

According to the file, the number of confirmed unprovoked shark attacks in Onslow County since 1935, is 10. Onslow sits at fifth place in North Carolina behind Brunswick with 17, New Hanover and Carteret with 14, and Dare with 11.

In 2021, North Carolina sat tied for fourth in the country with California in the number of unprovoked shark bites with three.

Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Daily News: ENC coast seeing great white sharks pass through this summer