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These formidable predators in the Mediterranean Sea are facing a serious threat of extinction, with poaching being a key factor to their rapid population drop.

This finding is based on studies conducted by experts, who collaborated with an international conservation charity. They report that some of the most threatened species – such as the great white – are found on sale in marketplaces across the North African coast.

Great whites are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which renders it unlawful to catch them or to sell them.

However, by observing harbors along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, the research team found that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in the single year of 2025.

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

A particular clip showed a sizeable great white shark being hauled ashore from a fishing boat in Algeria. Additional footage, taken in a Tunisian location, shows remains and fins of what looks like a short-finned mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species.

Last Shark Stronghold

The project head, stated that many shark species – great whites especially – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

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

The Mediterranean white shark population is now classified as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

In their new mission to locate and research the sharks, the team worked in the waters between Sicily and North Africa – an area known as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

One key aim of their project was to deploy a tracking device onto a white shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

To do this, the researchers used a large amount of bait – including frozen fish parts and hundreds of liters of tuna oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

Despite working for two weeks – laying bait, taking samples of seawater to test for environmental DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

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

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

While the team was searching for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a juvenile great white had been captured and killed in a fishery off North Africa – just not far from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that specimen was caught by accident in gear, or if it was deliberately caught.

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

Sharks for Sale

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

The rules that protect sharks are complex. Currently, two dozen endangered species have global protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

An regional treaty 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 compliance varies from one place to another.

A conservationist noted that his own research 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 hope for revival."

Possible Solutions

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to provide for their families, 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 provide alternatives and education in more selective 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."