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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean waters are on the verge of vanishing, with poaching being a major contributor to their worrying decrease.

This assessment is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who partnered with an international conservation charity. They report that some of the most threatened species – like the great white shark – are being sold in ports across Northern African nations.

Great white sharks are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which renders it unlawful to fish for them or to sell them.

However, by monitoring fishing ports along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the research team found that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been killed there in 2025 alone.

Social media clips showing sharks under protection being landed at North African ports has been independently verified.

One piece of footage showed a large great white being hauled ashore from a trawler in an Algerian port. Additional footage, taken in a Tunisian location, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Remaining Habitat

The principal scientist, stated that many shark species – white sharks in particular – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other stretch of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been increasing... and it's possible that they will become extinct in the near future."

The population of great whites in the Mediterranean is now classified as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

In their most recent effort to locate and research the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk.

A primary objective of their project was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a great white – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea.

To attempt this, the researchers used a large amount of bait – including frozen fish parts and a substantial volume of tuna oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away.

Despite working for two weeks – baiting the ocean, sampling for DNA to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers did not manage to find 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 surviving sharks, they also received reports that a small great white had been captured and killed in a regional fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is uncertain whether that animal was ensnared unintentionally in gear, or if it was deliberately caught.

The team, however, calculates that over forty great white sharks have been taken along that coastline. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Protected Sharks Traded

The scientists, along with colleagues in North Africa, are keeping watch on multiple ports in the region. Documentation shows that endangered sharks are taken and traded in countries including Tunisia and Algeria.

The rules that protect sharks are complicated. Currently, 24 threatened species have global protection – 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 mandates "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address unintentional catch and implementation differs from one place to another.

A conservationist noted that his own inquiry found several great whites 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 wildlife left," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a possibility of comeback."

Possible Solutions

In less affluent areas in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they must feed their households?" 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 worked together, "there is hope."

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