Great white sharks in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with poaching being a key factor to their worrying decrease.
This conclusion is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who collaborated with an international conservation charity. They note that some of the most threatened species – such as the great white – are found on sale in marketplaces across Northern African nations.
Great whites are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which renders it unlawful to target them or to trade them.
However, by monitoring fishing ports along the coastline of North Africa, scientists discovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in 2025 alone.
Footage from social media showing endangered sharks being landed at North African ports has been confirmed.
One video showed a sizeable great white shark being dragged onto land from a vessel in an Algerian port. Another, filmed in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what looks like a short-finned mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.
Remaining Habitat
The principal scientist, explained that many shark populations – particularly great whites – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the last few decades.
"No other stretch of water is exploited as heavily as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been increasing... and it's likely that they will become extinct in the near future."
The Mediterranean great whites is now listed as Critically Endangered by the key international body.
In their most recent effort to locate and research the animals, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area known as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.
A primary objective of their expedition was to deploy a tracking device onto a white shark – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.
To do this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of bait – including frozen fish parts and a substantial volume of fish oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.
Even after a fortnight of effort – chumming the water, collecting water samples to look for genetic material and using subsea cameras – the researchers failed to encounter any animals to tag.
They captured only a short sighting of one shark on their underwater cameras.
"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this ecosystem is."
As the team searched for surviving sharks, they also were informed that a juvenile great white had been captured and killed in a regional fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.
It is not clear whether that specimen was ensnared unintentionally in nets or lines, or if it was deliberately caught.
The team, however, believes that over forty great white sharks have been harvested in that area. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.
Illegal Shark Trade
The researchers, along with colleagues in North Africa, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Findings shows that protected sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including the region.
The regulations safeguarding sharks are complex. Currently, two dozen endangered species have international legal protection – like makos and hammerheads.
An international agreement states that those species cannot be "retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold or displayed or offered for sale".
The agreement states "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle unintentional catch and implementation differs from country to country.
A conservationist noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a unexpected hopeful sign in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets.
"It shows that there is wildlife left," he said. "And if we can safeguard this, there is a possibility of comeback."
The Path Forward
In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishers who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, or throw back an endangered shark to the ocean.
"Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a scientist. "If you support them and train them in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch white sharks."
An advocate added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope."
"But," he stated, "we've got to act very quickly."
