OCEARCH great white tagging reveals Gulf winter habitat
Key Questions
What recent OCEARCH activity involves great white sharks in the Gulf?
OCEARCH tagged 92 great white sharks as of March 15, 2026, with 57 using the Gulf winter habitat at Pulley Ridge. This tagging helps track their movements and reveals important seasonal patterns.
What is the God Squad ESA waiver mentioned in relation to Gulf oil and gas?
The God Squad granted a unanimous 6-0 ESA waiver on March 31, 2026, exempting all Gulf oil and gas activities, pushed by Hegseth citing Iran war and litigation under Trump2's zero listings policy. Environmental groups like Earthjustice have filed a lawsuit, with courts leaning toward reversal.
How does oil and gas drilling threaten marine life at Pulley Ridge?
Drilling at Pulley Ridge endangers OCEARCH-tracked great whites, mantas, rays, whales, sawfish, and sturgeon due to habitat overlap. Monitoring requires raw tracks, metadata, map overlaps, court briefs, Federal Register notices, DOI updates, and ESA fallout.
OCEARCH tagged 92 great whites (2026-03-15); 57 using Gulf winter at Pulley Ridge. God Squad ESA waiver confirmed (2026-06-19 update: Hegseth 15-min push for Gulf oil/gas exemption citing Iran war/litigation, 3/31/26 unanimous 6-0; Trump2 zero listings; Earthjustice/others lawsuit, courts leaning reversal); drilling threatens Pulley OCEARCH shark/manta/ray/whale/sawfish/sturgeon—req raw tracks/metadata, map overlaps, monitor fallout/court briefs/Fed Reg/DOI/ESA.