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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin are in danger of disappearing, with unlawful fishing practices being a major contributor to their rapid population drop.

This assessment is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who worked alongside an marine preservation group. They indicate that various at-risk marine animals – 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 safeguarded by global treaties, which renders it unlawful to target them or to sell them.

However, by observing harbors along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, investigators discovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in 2025 alone.

Social media clips showing protected sharks being brought dead into North African ports has been independently verified.

A particular clip showed a big shark being hauled ashore from a trawler in an Algerian port. Additional footage, filmed in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what looks like a short-finned mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Final Refuge

The principal scientist, stated that many populations of sharks – great whites especially – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

"No other sea is exploited as heavily as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been increasing... and it's plausible that they will go extinct in the near future."

The Mediterranean white shark population is now listed as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

In their new mission to locate and research the predators, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area considered a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

A primary objective of their mission was to attach a satellite tag onto a great white – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.

To try this, the researchers used a large amount of chum – including frozen fish parts 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 – baiting the ocean, sampling for DNA to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers failed to encounter 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 habitat is."

While the team was searching for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a young great white shark had been captured and killed in a regional fishery – just a short distance from where they were working.

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

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.

Sharks for Sale

The scientists, along with local partners, are keeping watch on multiple ports in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including several North African nations.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are complex. Currently, 24 threatened species have global protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

An regional treaty 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 tackle unintentional catch and enforcement is variable from country to country.

A conservationist noted that his own investigation found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a unexpected hopeful sign 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 protect this, there is a possibility of comeback."

What Can Be Done?

In less affluent areas in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to provide for their families, or throw back an endangered shark to the ocean.

"Why would they release sharks into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a scientist. "If you provide alternatives and education in more selective fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

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

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