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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are on the verge of vanishing, with unlawful fishing practices being a key factor to their rapid population drop.

This conclusion is based on studies conducted by experts, who collaborated with an ocean protection organization. They note that several critically endangered species – like the great white shark – are appearing for sale in ports across North Africa.

These sharks are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which makes it illegal to catch them or to sell them.

However, by observing harbors along the North African Mediterranean shoreline, the research team discovered that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been caught and killed there in 2025 alone.

Footage from social media showing protected sharks being brought dead into North African ports has been independently verified.

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being dragged onto land from a trawler in Algeria. A separate video, taken in a Tunisian location, shows remains and fins of what appears to be a mako shark, which is also a species at risk.

Final Refuge

The lead researcher, clarified that many shark populations – white sharks in particular – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other sea is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been growing... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the coming years."

The Mediterranean great whites is now classified as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In their latest attempt to track and analyze the animals, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area considered a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk.

An important goal of their mission was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a white shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

To try this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of bait – including baitfish and 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away.

Even after a fortnight of effort – chumming the water, taking samples of seawater to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers failed to encounter any specimens.

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

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

As the team searched for living sharks, they also learned that a small great white had been taken in a regional fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is uncertain whether that specimen was caught by accident in fishing gear, or if it was targeted.

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

Illegal Shark Trade

The team, along with colleagues in North Africa, are observing various harbors in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including the region.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are multifaceted. Currently, 24 threatened species have international legal protection – like makos 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 mandates "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for incidental capture and compliance varies from nation to nation.

A conservationist noted that his own research found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a unexpected hopeful sign in the fact that white sharks were appearing in trade.

"It shows that there is animals still there," he said. "And if we can protect this, there is a hope for revival."

Possible Solutions

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to earn a livelihood, 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 regional marine biologist. "If you support them and train them in more selective fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

A conservationist added that if countries around the Mediterranean collaborated, "there is hope."

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