🔗 Share this article These Apex Predators Are on the Brink of Vanishing in the Mediterranean Sea, Researchers State The iconic great white in the Mediterranean waters are on the verge of vanishing, with illegal fishing being a significant driver to their alarming decline. This conclusion is based on research by scientists, who worked alongside an ocean protection organization. They report that several critically endangered species – including great white sharks – are found on sale in marketplaces across Northern African nations. Great white sharks are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which renders it unlawful to fish for them or to offer them for sale. However, by monitoring fishing ports along the North African Mediterranean shoreline, the research team uncovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in 2025 alone. Conservationists and scientists say they have observed safeguarded animals for sale in ports in North Africa. Social media clips showing protected 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 parts of what looks like a mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species. Final Refuge The researchers worked from a ship in the Sicily Strait. The lead researcher, explained that many shark populations – particularly great whites – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the past years. "No other body of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been intensifying... and it's possible that they will become extinct in the foreseeable future." The Mediterranean great whites is now listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In their latest attempt to track and analyze the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area known as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species. One key aim of their project was to attach a satellite tag onto a white shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea. To do this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of fish bait – including frozen fish parts and 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away. Despite working for two weeks – baiting the ocean, collecting water samples to test for environmental DNA and using subsea cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any specimens. They captured only a brief glimpse of one shark on their cameras. "It's disheartening," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how depleted this ecosystem is." While the team was searching for living sharks, they also received reports that a juvenile great white had been taken in a regional fishery – just a short distance from where they were working. It is not clear whether that specimen was accidentally caught in nets or lines, or if it was hunted. The team, however, believes 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. Sharks for Sale Research in North African markets in recent years discovered protected sharks being offered for sale. The researchers, along with regional contacts, are observing various harbors in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are taken and traded in countries including the region. The regulations safeguarding sharks are complex. Currently, 24 threatened species have global protection – like makos and hammerheads. An multinational pact states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold". The agreement specifies "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle accidental bycatch and implementation differs from one place to another. The researchers used special cameras to look for sharks. A marine advocate noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were appearing in trade. "It shows that there is wildlife left," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a chance of recovery." Possible Solutions In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the dilemma of whether to feed their family, or return a threatened species to the ocean. "Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a local expert. "If you provide alternatives and education in more responsible fishing, they will not catch white sharks." A conservationist added that if countries around the Mediterranean joined forces, "there is hope." "But," he continued, "we've got to act very quickly."