🔗 Share this article Great White Sharks Risk Extinction in the Mediterranean, Researchers State Great white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with poaching being a key factor to their worrying decrease. This finding is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who worked alongside an ocean protection organization. They report that some of the most threatened species – like the great white shark – are being sold in fish markets across North Africa. Great white sharks are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which makes it illegal to catch them or to trade them. However, by monitoring fishing ports along the coastline of North Africa, scientists found that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in just the past year. Conservationists and scientists say they have witnessed protected species for sale in ports in several countries. Videos shared online showing sharks under protection being landed at North African ports has been authenticated. A particular clip showed a large great white being dragged onto land from a trawler in an Algerian port. Another, taken in a Tunisian location, shows heads and fins of what is believed to be a mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species. Remaining Habitat The scientific team worked from a boat in the area near Sicily. The project head, explained that many shark populations – white sharks in particular – 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 impact of industrial fishing has been intensifying... and it's possible that they will vanish in the near future." The population of great whites in the Mediterranean is now classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. In their new mission to locate and research the sharks, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area known as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk. A primary objective of their mission was to attach a satellite tag onto a white shark – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea. To attempt this, the researchers used over three tons of chum – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and 500 litres of scent oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away. Despite working for two weeks – chumming the water, sampling for DNA to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any specimens. They captured only a brief glimpse of one shark on their cameras. "It's disappointing," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this habitat is." During their search for surviving sharks, they also received reports that a juvenile great white had been taken in a North African fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working. It is unknown whether that animal was ensnared unintentionally in fishing gear, or if it was targeted. The team, however, estimates that more than 40 great white sharks have been harvested in that area. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized. Illegal Shark Trade An investigation in Tunisia in 2023 discovered endangered sharks being sold. The scientists, along with colleagues in North Africa, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Findings shows that endangered sharks are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including the region. The rules that protect sharks are complicated. Currently, 24 threatened species have international legal protection – such as makos, angel sharks, threshers, and hammerheads. An multinational pact states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold". The agreement states "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address incidental capture and implementation differs from country to country. The researchers used special cameras to look for sharks. A conservationist noted that his own investigation found several great whites on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale. "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 less affluent areas in North Africa, fishers who catch sharks might face the choice 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 must feed their households?" asked a scientist. "If you assist and guide them in more selective fishing, they will not catch these sharks." An advocate added that if countries around the Mediterranean collaborated, "there is hope." "But," he added, "we've got to act very quickly."