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Great white sharks in the Mediterranean waters are on the verge of vanishing, with poaching being a significant driver to their rapid population drop.

This conclusion is based on studies conducted by experts, who worked alongside an international conservation charity. They indicate that various at-risk marine animals – such as the great white – are being sold in fish markets across Northern African nations.

Great whites are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which renders it unlawful to catch them or to trade them.

However, by surveying docks along the coastline of North Africa, the research team discovered that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in 2025 alone.

Footage from social media showing endangered sharks being unloaded in North African ports has been confirmed.

One video showed a big shark being pulled from a boat from a trawler in an Algerian port. A separate video, taken in a Tunisian location, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a protected mako, which is also a species at risk.

Final Refuge

The project head, clarified that many shark populations – particularly great whites – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

"No other body of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been intensifying... and it's plausible that they will vanish in the foreseeable future."

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

In their new mission to locate and research the animals, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area known as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

An important goal of their mission was to attach a satellite tag onto a shark – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.

To do this, the researchers used over three tons of fish 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, sampling for DNA to test for environmental DNA and using underwater cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

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

"It's disheartening," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how depleted this ecosystem is."

While the team was searching for living sharks, they also were informed that a juvenile great white had been caught and killed in a fishery off North Africa – just not far from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that shark was accidentally caught in fishing gear, or if it was deliberately caught.

The team, however, estimates 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 researchers, along with local partners, are observing various harbors in the region. Documentation shows that endangered sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including several North African nations.

The protective legislation are complex. Currently, 24 threatened species have treaty-based safeguards – such as makos, angel sharks, threshers, and hammerheads.

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

The agreement specifies "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle unintentional catch and implementation differs from country to country.

A conservationist noted that his own inquiry found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets.

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

What Can Be Done?

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, or throw back an endangered shark to the ocean.

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

Another expert added that if countries around the Mediterranean joined forces, "there is hope."

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