🔗 Share this article Great White Sharks Risk Disappearing in the Mediterranean, Researchers Warn These formidable predators in the Mediterranean waters are on the verge of vanishing, with illegal fishing being a significant driver to their alarming decline. This finding is based on research by scientists, who collaborated with an ocean protection organization. They note that several critically endangered species – such as the great white – are being sold in fish markets across Northern African nations. Great whites are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which prohibits to fish for them or to offer them for sale. However, by monitoring fishing ports along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the research team uncovered that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in just the past year. Researchers and advocates say they have documented endangered species for sale in market stalls in North Africa. Footage from social media showing endangered sharks being landed at North African ports has been confirmed. One video showed a big shark being pulled from a boat from a vessel in Algeria. Additional footage, taken in a Tunisian location, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a mako shark, which is also a species at risk. Last Shark Stronghold The experts worked from a vessel in the Strait of Sicily. The project head, explained that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the past years. "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 growing... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the near future." The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the global conservation union. In their latest attempt to locate and research the sharks, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area known as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species. One key aim of their expedition was to deploy a tracking device onto a white shark – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea. To try this, the researchers used a large amount of fish bait – including baitfish and hundreds of liters 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 sharks to tag. They captured only a brief glimpse of one blue shark on their cameras. "It's disappointing," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this habitat is." As the team searched for living sharks, they also learned that a young great white shark had been captured and killed in a North African fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working. It is not clear whether that shark was caught by accident in fishing gear, 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. Protected Sharks Traded An investigation in North African markets in recent years discovered protected sharks being offered for sale. The scientists, along with local partners, are observing various harbors in the region. Findings shows that sharks under protection are taken and traded in countries including several North African nations. The protective legislation are complex. Currently, numerous species have global protection – such as makos, angel sharks, threshers, and hammerheads. An international agreement states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold". The agreement states "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address accidental bycatch and implementation differs from one place to another. The researchers used baited underwater cameras to search the area. A marine advocate noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining 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 possibility of comeback." The Path Forward In poorer communities in North Africa, fishers who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to provide for their families, or return a threatened species to the ocean. "Why would they throw sharks back 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 these sharks." A conservationist added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope." "But," he stated, "we've got to act very quickly."