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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin are facing a serious threat of extinction, with poaching being a significant driver to their rapid population drop.

This assessment is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who partnered with an ocean protection organization. They note that various at-risk marine animals – such as the great white – are appearing for sale in ports across Northern African nations.

These sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species safeguarded by global treaties, which renders it unlawful to fish for them or to offer them for sale.

However, by monitoring fishing ports along the coastline of North Africa, scientists uncovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in 2025 alone.

Footage from social media showing sharks under protection being landed at North African ports has been confirmed.

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being hauled ashore from a trawler in Algeria. A separate video, taken in a Tunisian location, shows remains and fins of what appears to be a protected mako, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Remaining Habitat

The project head, stated that many shark populations – great whites especially – had suffered a severe drop 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 effects of large-scale fishing has been growing... and it's possible that they will vanish in the foreseeable future."

The Mediterranean great whites is now classified as Critically Endangered by the global conservation union.

In their most recent effort to find and study the animals, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

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

To attempt this, the researchers used over three tons of bait – including baitfish and a substantial volume of tuna oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can sense from far off.

Even after a fortnight of effort – chumming the water, collecting water samples to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate 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."

During their search for living sharks, they also were informed that a juvenile great white had been caught and killed in a fishery off North Africa – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that specimen was caught by accident in gear, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, calculates that in excess of 40 great white sharks have been caught around that coast. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Protected Sharks Traded

The team, along with local partners, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Findings shows that endangered sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including the region.

The rules that protect sharks are complicated. Currently, numerous species have international legal 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 specifies "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for unintentional catch and compliance varies from country to country.

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 turning up for sale.

"It shows that there is life remaining," he said. "And if we can protect this, there is a possibility of comeback."

What Can Be Done?

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to earn a livelihood, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a local expert. "If you provide alternatives and education 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 continued, "we've got to act very quickly."