12-Year-Old from New England Reels in a Giant Great White Shark Off the Florida Coast

Campbell Keenan set out on a fishing trip from Port Everglades Florida and ended the day with the experience of a lifetime. The 12-year-old from Massachusetts reeled in a great white shark that’s estimated to have weighed 450 pounds!

Let’s dive into this story and examine how big great whites get in Florida

One Massive Shark for a 12-Year-Old

The Keenan family had spent the day fishing and was mostly catching bait fish. However, 12-year-old Campbell soon caught something on his line that was clearly different.

“We had to hold on to him to make sure he wasn’t going to go off the boat. He had to hold onto the reel and he was strapped in – but not really – so that was scary.” His mother Colleen told WSVN News in Florida.

The bite was about 300 yards out and took 45 minutes to an hour to reel in. Once the shark had reached near the boat the charter fishing company announced to the boat “You’ve got a great white” and cheers of amazement went up.

Tagging and Tracking the Great White Shark

It’s estimated the great white shark Campbell caught was about 450 pounds and 11 feet long.

Catching a great white of this size is extremely rare. New Latitude Sportsfishing, which operated the charter, said it was only the second great white they’d reeled in since 2003.

Once the shark was reeled in it was measured (it was 130 inches long, to be exact) and tagged so that scientists could track the shark and her migration patterns.

And about that 12-year-old, he noted the largest fish he’d ever caught before the great white was a 30-inch striper. This will definitely be a day he never forgets!

What’s the Biggest Great White Shark Ever Caught in Florida?

While the shark reeled in by Campbell Keenan was quite large at 11 feet, it’s far from the largest great white shark ever caught off Florida.

• In March 2021 a fishing charter caught a 1,200-pound shark off Florida
• On March 24, 2022, a shark weighing 1,644 pounds was spotted off Florida’s coast.
• Official records from the IGFA list the largest white shark ever caught in Florida at 686 pounds. This shark was caught off Key West in 1988.

Overall, all the sharks above are far smaller than the largest great white on record. That title belongs to a great white named ‘Deep Blue’ that’s estimated to weigh up to 5,000 pounds! Deep Blue has been spotted in Mexico and Hawaii and has acted non-aggressively as humans have swum next to it!

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Alexyz3d/Shutterstock.com