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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with unlawful fishing practices being a major contributor to their worrying decrease.

This conclusion is based on studies conducted by experts, who worked alongside an international conservation charity. They report that several critically endangered species – such as the great white – are appearing for sale in fish markets across Northern African nations.

These sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, which makes it illegal to fish for them or to offer them for sale.

However, by surveying docks 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 protected sharks being unloaded in North African ports has been independently verified.

One video showed a sizeable great white shark being pulled from a boat from a vessel in Algeria. Additional footage, 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, explained that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other stretch of water is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been increasing... and it's plausible that they will go extinct in the near future."

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

In their latest attempt to find and study the animals, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area identified as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk.

A primary objective of their project was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a white shark – something that has never been done in the Mediterranean Sea.

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

After two weeks of work – laying bait, taking samples of seawater to test for environmental DNA and using underwater cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any sharks to tag.

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

"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how depleted this ecosystem is."

While the team was searching for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a small great white had been caught and killed in a North African fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.

It is unknown whether that shark was caught by accident in fishing gear, or if it was deliberately caught.

The team, however, estimates that more than 40 great white sharks have been taken along that coastline. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Sharks for Sale

The scientists, along with colleagues in North Africa, are keeping watch on multiple ports in the region. Findings shows that endangered sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including several North African nations.

The rules that protect 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 mandates "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for unintentional catch and enforcement is variable from nation to nation.

A conservationist noted that his own inquiry found several great whites on sale. But, he said, there was a unexpected hopeful sign in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale.

"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, fishers who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to provide for their families, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they release sharks into the sea when they must feed their households?" asked a local expert. "If you assist and guide them in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch these sharks."

Another expert added that if countries around the Mediterranean collaborated, "there is hope."

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