By Michael Lee Simpson

A massive 12-foot, 1,000-pound great white shark named Ernst spotted just 150 miles off the Southwest Florida coast.

The juvenile female, traveling into Pulley Ridge during her Gulf migration, is helping highlight the area's growing importance to great white sharks.

Chris Fischer, founder and expedition leader of OCEARCH , describes the area as a "proper hotspot" and says Ernst's repeated visits signal strong ecosystem health as the apex predator forages in the biodiverse region.

Her movements also support new findings that great whites are entering the Gulf more commonly than previously believed.

"We're starting to see a lot of our sharks spend a fair bit of time here in this Pulley Ridge area," Fischer said.

"It's a super biodiverse place with a tremend

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