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Great white sharks in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with illegal fishing being a major contributor to their alarming decline.

This conclusion is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who collaborated with an ocean protection organization. They indicate that some of the most threatened species – including great white sharks – are appearing for sale in fish markets across the North African coast.

These sharks are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species safeguarded by global treaties, which makes it illegal to catch them or to offer them for sale.

However, by monitoring fishing ports along the North African Mediterranean shoreline, the research team found that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been killed there in the single year of 2025.

Social media clips showing sharks under protection being unloaded in North African ports has been confirmed.

One video showed a big shark being hauled ashore from a trawler in Algeria. A separate video, recorded in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what looks like a short-finned mako shark, which is also a species at risk.

Last Shark Stronghold

The lead researcher, stated that many populations of sharks – great whites especially – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in the last few decades.

"No other stretch of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been increasing... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the near future."

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

In their most recent effort to locate and research the animals, the team worked in the waters between Sicily and North Africa – an area considered a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

A primary objective of their mission was to attach a satellite tag onto a white shark – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea.

To do this, the researchers used over three tons of chum – including frozen fish parts and a substantial volume of tuna oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away.

Even after a fortnight of effort – laying bait, taking samples of seawater to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any sharks to tag.

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

"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this marine environment is."

While the team was searching for remaining sharks, they also were informed that a small great white had been captured and killed in a regional fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is unknown whether that shark was ensnared unintentionally in fishing gear, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, calculates 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.

Protected Sharks Traded

The team, along with regional contacts, are observing various harbors in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are taken and traded in countries including Tunisia and Algeria.

The protective legislation are complicated. Currently, numerous species have treaty-based safeguards – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

An regional treaty 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 incidental capture and implementation differs from country to country.

A marine advocate noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a unexpected hopeful sign in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets.

"It shows that there is wildlife left," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a possibility of comeback."

What Can Be Done?

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishing communities 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 throw sharks back into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a scientist. "If you assist and guide them in more responsible fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

An advocate added that if countries around the Mediterranean collaborated, "there is hope."

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