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Great white sharks in the Mediterranean waters are on the verge of vanishing, with illegal fishing being a key factor to their worrying decrease.

This conclusion is based on studies conducted by experts, who worked alongside an international conservation charity. They report that some of the most threatened species – like the great white shark – are found on sale in fish markets across the North African coast.

Great whites are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which makes it illegal to target them or to offer them for sale.

However, by surveying docks along the coastline of North Africa, scientists found that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been killed there in the single year of 2025.

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

One video showed a sizeable great white shark being pulled from a boat from a fishing boat in an Algerian port. Additional footage, filmed in Tunisia, shows heads and fins of what looks like a protected mako, which is also a species at risk.

Remaining Habitat

The lead researcher, explained that many shark species – particularly great whites – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in the last few decades.

"No other body of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been intensifying... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the coming years."

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

In their latest attempt to find and study the animals, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area identified as a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

A primary objective of their expedition was to attach a satellite 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 fish bait – including frozen fish parts and a substantial volume of scent oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

Despite working for two weeks – baiting the ocean, collecting water samples to look for genetic material 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 submarine cameras.

"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how degraded this habitat is."

While the team was searching for surviving sharks, they also learned 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 not clear whether that animal was caught by accident in gear, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, believes 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

The researchers, along with regional contacts, are keeping watch on multiple ports in the region. Evidence shows that endangered sharks are taken and traded in countries including the region.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are multifaceted. Currently, 24 threatened species have global protection – like makos and hammerheads.

An international agreement states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold".

The agreement specifies "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle accidental bycatch and enforcement is variable from country to country.

A marine advocate noted that his own inquiry found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale.

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

Possible Solutions

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to provide for their families, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

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

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

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