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These formidable predators in the Mediterranean basin are in danger of disappearing, with unlawful fishing practices being a major contributor to their alarming decline.

This assessment is based on research by scientists, who worked alongside an marine preservation group. They report that several critically endangered species – like the great white shark – are found on sale in marketplaces across Northern African nations.

Great white sharks are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which renders it unlawful to catch them or to offer them for sale.

However, by observing harbors along the coastline of North Africa, investigators uncovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in the single year of 2025.

Videos shared online showing sharks under protection being brought dead into North African ports has been confirmed.

One piece of footage showed a big shark being hauled ashore from a trawler in Algeria. Another, recorded in Tunisia, shows parts of what looks like a short-finned mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species.

Last Shark Stronghold

The lead researcher, clarified that many shark populations – great whites especially – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other body of water is exploited as heavily as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been growing... and it's possible that they will vanish in the near future."

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

In their most recent effort to locate and research the predators, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

One key aim of their mission was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a white shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

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

After two weeks of work – baiting the ocean, collecting water samples to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers failed to encounter any animals to tag.

They captured only a fleeting sighting of one blue shark species on their underwater cameras.

"It's disappointing," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this ecosystem 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 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 deliberately caught.

The team, however, calculates 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

The team, along with regional contacts, are observing various harbors in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including Tunisia and Algeria.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are complicated. Currently, numerous species have global protection – like makos 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 specifies "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for unintentional catch and implementation differs from nation to nation.

A conservationist noted that his own investigation found several great whites 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 animals still there," he said. "And if we can protect 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 dilemma of whether to provide for their families, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a regional marine biologist. "If you provide alternatives and education in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch these sharks."

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

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