Great White Sharks Are on the Brink of Disappearing in the Mediterranean, Experts Warn

The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with illegal fishing being a major contributor to their worrying decrease.

This assessment is based on research by scientists, who collaborated with an international conservation charity. They report that some of the most threatened species – like the great white shark – are being sold in fish markets across North Africa.

Great whites are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which makes it illegal to target them or to offer them for sale.

However, by surveying docks along the North African Mediterranean shoreline, the research team found that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been caught and killed there in the single year of 2025.

Videos shared online showing endangered sharks being landed at North African ports has been authenticated.

One video showed a large great white being pulled from a boat from a trawler in an Algerian port. A separate video, filmed in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what is believed to be a mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Final Refuge

The project head, explained that many shark populations – great whites especially – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other sea is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been growing... and it's possible that they will become extinct in the foreseeable future."

The Mediterranean white shark population is now classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In their most recent effort to locate and research the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area considered a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

One key aim of their project was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a great white – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.

To attempt this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of chum – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away.

After two weeks of work – baiting the ocean, sampling for DNA to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any specimens.

They captured only a fleeting sighting of one blue shark species on their underwater cameras.

"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this marine environment is."

During their search for surviving sharks, they also were informed that a small great white had been taken in a North African fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is unknown whether that specimen was accidentally caught in nets or lines, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, estimates that in excess of 40 great white sharks have been harvested in that area. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Protected Sharks Traded

The team, along with local partners, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Documentation shows that protected sharks are taken and traded in countries including the region.

The protective legislation are complicated. Currently, numerous species have treaty-based safeguards – like makos and hammerheads.

An international agreement states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold".

The agreement specifies "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle unintentional catch and implementation differs from country to country.

A expert 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 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."

What Can Be Done?

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to provide for their families, or return a threatened species to the ocean.

"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a local expert. "If you assist and guide them in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

Another expert added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope."

"But," he continued, "we've got to act very quickly."