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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with poaching being a key factor to their rapid population drop.

This finding is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who collaborated with an marine preservation group. They note that some of the most threatened species – including great white sharks – are appearing for sale in fish markets across North Africa.

Great white sharks are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which renders it unlawful to catch them or to sell them.

However, by observing harbors along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the research team uncovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been killed there in 2025 alone.

Social media clips showing sharks under protection being unloaded in North African ports has been authenticated.

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being pulled from a boat from a fishing boat in Algeria. Another, recorded in Tunisia, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species.

Last Shark Stronghold

The lead researcher, clarified that many populations of sharks – white sharks in particular – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

"No other sea is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been growing... and it's possible that they will vanish in the near future."

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

In their latest attempt to locate and research the predators, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area identified as 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 remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

To do this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of chum – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and 500 litres of scent oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can sense from far off.

After two weeks of work – baiting the ocean, collecting water samples to search for shark DNA and using underwater cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

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 marine environment is."

During their search for living sharks, they also learned that a juvenile great white had been taken in a regional fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is unknown whether that animal was ensnared unintentionally in gear, 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 local partners, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Evidence shows that endangered sharks are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including the region.

The protective legislation are multifaceted. Currently, 24 threatened species have treaty-based safeguards – such as makos, angel sharks, threshers, 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 specifies "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address unintentional catch and enforcement is variable from nation to nation.

A conservationist noted that his own inquiry found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets.

"It shows that there is animals still there," he said. "And if we can safeguard this, there is a chance of recovery."

The Path Forward

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to earn a livelihood, or return a threatened species to the ocean.

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

An advocate added that if countries around the Mediterranean collaborated, "there is hope."

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