Great white sharks face extinction in Mediterranean, say researchersGetty ImagesGreat white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with illegal fishing contributing to their decline. This is according to research by US scientists, working in partnership with UK charity Blue Marine Foundation. They say some of the most threatened species - including great white sharks - are being sold in North African fish markets. Great whites are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species protected under international law, meaning it is illegal to fish for them or to sell them. By monitoring fishing ports on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, however, researchers discovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in 2025 alone. James Glancy/Blue MarineConservationists and scientists say they have seen protected species for sale in fish markets in North Africa The BBC has also found, and independently verified, footage from social media of protected sharks being brought dead into North African ports. One video showed a large great white being hauled ashore from a fishing boat in Algeria. Another, filmed in Tunisia, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species, being prepared for sale. Last shark stronghold James Glancy/Martin StalkerThe researchers worked from a vessel in the Strait of SicilyLead researcher, Dr Francesco Ferretti from the US university Virginia Tech, explained that many shark populations - white sharks in particular - had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in recent decades."No other stretch of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said, speaking to the BBC News science team while working on a research vessel off the coast of Sicily in late 2025.
