The iconic great white in the Mediterranean waters are facing a serious threat of extinction, with poaching being a key factor to their rapid population drop.
This conclusion is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who partnered with an ocean protection organization. They report that some of the most threatened species – like the great white shark – are appearing for sale in fish markets across Northern African nations.
Great white sharks are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which makes it illegal to target them or to sell them.
However, by observing harbors along the North African Mediterranean shoreline, scientists found that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been killed there in the single year of 2025.
Footage from social media showing sharks under protection being brought dead into North African ports has been authenticated.
One video showed a sizeable great white shark being dragged onto land from a fishing boat in Algeria. Another, filmed in Tunisia, shows parts of what looks like a mako shark, which is also a species at risk.
Final Refuge
The principal scientist, explained that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in the past years.
"No other body of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been intensifying... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the near future."
The Mediterranean white shark population is now designated as Critically Endangered by the key international body.
In their new mission to find and study the sharks, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area known as a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk.
One key aim of their expedition was to deploy a tracking device onto a shark – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.
To do this, the researchers used a large amount of bait – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and hundreds of liters of scent oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.
Even after a fortnight of effort – laying bait, sampling for DNA to look for genetic material and using underwater cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any sharks to tag.
They captured only a fleeting sighting of one shark on their underwater cameras.
"It's disheartening," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how depleted this marine environment is."
As the team searched for surviving sharks, they also received reports that a small great white had been caught and killed in a fishery off North Africa – just not far from where they were working.
It is uncertain whether that shark was ensnared unintentionally in fishing gear, or if it was targeted.
The team, however, estimates that in excess of 40 great white sharks have been taken along that coastline. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.
Illegal Shark Trade
The scientists, along with colleagues in North Africa, are observing various harbors in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including Tunisia and Algeria.
The rules that protect sharks are multifaceted. Currently, numerous species have global protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.
An regional treaty states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold".
The agreement states "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle incidental capture and enforcement is variable from one place to another.
A conservationist noted that his own investigation found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale.
"It shows that there is wildlife left," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a hope for revival."
What Can Be Done?
In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, or release a protected animal to the ocean.
"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a local expert. "If you provide alternatives and education in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch protected species."
Another expert added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope."
"But," he continued, "we've got to act very quickly."
