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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin are facing a serious threat of extinction, with illegal fishing being a key factor to their alarming decline.

This conclusion is based on research by scientists, who partnered with an marine preservation group. They report that various at-risk marine animals – including great white sharks – are appearing for sale in ports across the North African coast.

Great whites are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which prohibits to catch them or to offer them for sale.

However, by surveying docks along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the research team discovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in 2025 alone.

Videos shared online showing protected sharks being landed at North African ports has been authenticated.

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being dragged onto land from a trawler in Algeria. Additional footage, recorded in Tunisia, shows parts of what appears to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Remaining Habitat

The principal scientist, stated that many shark species – white sharks in particular – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the last few decades.

"No other body of water is exploited as heavily as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been increasing... and it's possible 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 key international body.

In their new mission to track and analyze the animals, the team worked in the waters between Sicily and North Africa – an area known as a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

One key aim of their expedition was to attach a satellite tag onto a great white – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

To try this, the researchers used a large amount of fish bait – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and hundreds of liters of scent oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can sense from far off.

Even after a fortnight of effort – baiting the ocean, sampling for DNA to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

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

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

As the team searched for remaining sharks, they also learned that a young great white shark had been taken in a fishery off North Africa – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is uncertain whether that specimen was accidentally caught in nets or lines, or if it was hunted.

The team, however, estimates that over forty great white sharks have been harvested in that area. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Illegal Shark Trade

The scientists, along with local partners, are keeping watch on multiple ports in the region. Documentation shows that sharks under protection are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including the region.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are complicated. Currently, 24 threatened species have global protection – such as makos, angel sharks, threshers, and hammerheads.

An multinational pact 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 incidental capture and implementation differs from country to country.

A expert 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 animals still there," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a chance of recovery."

What Can Be Done?

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the dilemma of whether to provide for their families, or release a protected animal 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 responsible fishing, they will not catch protected species."

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

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