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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with poaching being a major contributor to their alarming decline.

This assessment is based on studies conducted by experts, who partnered with an ocean protection organization. They note that several critically endangered species – including great white sharks – are being sold in marketplaces across North Africa.

These sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which renders it unlawful to catch them or to offer them for sale.

However, by monitoring fishing ports along the coastline of North Africa, the research team found that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in the single year of 2025.

Videos shared online showing protected sharks being brought dead into North African ports has been authenticated.

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being dragged onto land from a fishing boat in Algeria. A separate video, recorded in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what appears to be a mako shark, which is also a species at risk.

Remaining Habitat

The lead researcher, stated that many shark species – white sharks in particular – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other stretch of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been increasing... and it's plausible that they will vanish in the coming years."

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

In their most recent effort to find and study the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk.

A primary objective of their expedition was to attach a satellite tag onto a white shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

To try this, the researchers used over three tons of fish bait – including baitfish and 500 litres of tuna oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away.

Despite working for two weeks – laying bait, sampling for DNA to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any specimens.

They captured only a brief glimpse of one blue shark on their submarine cameras.

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

During their search for living sharks, they also learned that a small great white had been captured and killed in a North African fishery – just a short distance from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that animal was caught by accident in nets or lines, or if it was hunted.

The team, however, believes 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.

Sharks for Sale

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

The protective legislation are multifaceted. Currently, 24 threatened species have international legal protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

An multinational pact states that those species cannot be "retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold or displayed or offered for sale".

The agreement states "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for unintentional catch and enforcement is variable from nation to nation.

A marine advocate noted that his own investigation found several great whites 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 wildlife left," he said. "And if we can safeguard this, there is a hope for revival."

What Can Be Done?

In less affluent areas in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to earn a livelihood, or throw back an endangered shark to the ocean.

"Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a scientist. "If you support them and train them in more selective fishing, they will not catch protected species."

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

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