🔗 Share this article

The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are facing a serious threat of extinction, with unlawful fishing practices being a major contributor to their alarming decline.

This assessment is based on research by scientists, who worked alongside 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.

These sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species safeguarded by global treaties, which renders it unlawful to catch them or to sell them.

However, by surveying docks along the coastline of North Africa, scientists uncovered 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 independently verified.

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being pulled from a boat from a trawler in Algeria. Another, recorded in Tunisia, shows parts of what looks like a protected mako, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Last Shark Stronghold

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 fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been intensifying... and it's plausible that they will go extinct in the coming years."

The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the global conservation union.

In their latest attempt to track and analyze the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

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

To attempt this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of chum – including baitfish and 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can sense from far off.

Despite working for two weeks – baiting the ocean, sampling for DNA to look for genetic material and using subsea cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any specimens.

They captured only a short sighting of one shark on their cameras.

"It's disappointing," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how degraded this habitat is."

During their search for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a young great white shark had been taken in a North African fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that shark was ensnared unintentionally in nets or lines, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, estimates that more than 40 great white sharks have been taken along that coastline. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Sharks for Sale

The team, along with regional contacts, are observing various harbors in the region. Findings shows that endangered sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including the region.

The rules that protect sharks are multifaceted. Currently, two dozen endangered species have global protection – like makos and hammerheads.

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

The agreement specifies "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for accidental bycatch and implementation differs from one place to another.

A marine advocate noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining in the fact that white sharks were appearing in trade.

"It shows that there is life remaining," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a chance of recovery."

The Path Forward

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a scientist. "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 added, "we've got to act very quickly."