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These formidable predators in the Mediterranean waters are in danger of disappearing, with unlawful fishing practices being a significant driver to their alarming decline.

This assessment is based on research by scientists, who worked alongside an marine preservation group. They indicate that various at-risk marine animals – such as the great white – are found on sale in ports across North Africa.

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

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

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

One video showed a big shark being pulled from a boat from a fishing boat in an Algerian port. Additional footage, 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.

Last Shark Stronghold

The principal scientist, stated that many shark species – particularly great whites – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

"No other body of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been growing... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the foreseeable future."

The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

In their new mission to track and analyze the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area considered a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

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 do this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of fish bait – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and 500 litres of fish oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

After two weeks of work – chumming the water, sampling for DNA to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any animals to tag.

They captured only a short sighting of one blue shark species on their submarine cameras.

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

As the team searched for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a juvenile great white had been captured and killed in a North African fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is not clear 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 team, along with colleagues in North Africa, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Documentation shows that sharks under protection are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including the region.

The rules that protect sharks are complex. Currently, numerous species have treaty-based safeguards – like makos 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 released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle unintentional catch and compliance varies from nation to nation.

A marine advocate noted that his own inquiry found multiple white sharks 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 protect this, there is a hope for revival."

The Path Forward

In less affluent areas in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to earn a livelihood, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they release sharks into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a regional marine biologist. "If you provide alternatives and education in more responsible fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

Another expert added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope."

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