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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin 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 partnered with an ocean protection organization. They indicate that some of the most threatened species – such as the great white – are appearing for sale in marketplaces across Northern African nations.

Great whites are one of over twenty Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which makes it illegal to target them or to offer them for sale.

However, by observing harbors along the coastline of North Africa, scientists uncovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been killed there in just the past year.

Social media clips showing protected sharks being landed at North African ports has been authenticated.

One piece of footage showed a large great white being pulled from a boat from a vessel in an Algerian port. Another, taken in a Tunisian location, shows heads and fins of what appears to be a protected mako, which is also a threatened and protected species.

Final Refuge

The principal scientist, explained that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in recent decades.

"No other sea is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been intensifying... and it's plausible that they will become extinct in the coming years."

The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

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

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

To do this, the researchers used over three tons of fish bait – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and a substantial volume of fish oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

Even after a fortnight of effort – baiting the ocean, sampling for DNA to look for genetic material and using underwater cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

They captured only a brief glimpse of one shark on their cameras.

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

As the team searched for surviving sharks, they also learned that a small great white had been taken in a North African fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that animal was accidentally caught in gear, or if it was deliberately caught.

The team, however, believes 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 researchers, along with colleagues in North Africa, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Documentation shows that sharks under protection are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including several North African nations.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are multifaceted. Currently, numerous species have international legal protection – like makos 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 returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle unintentional catch and enforcement is variable from nation to nation.

A marine advocate noted that his own investigation found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale.

"It shows that there is wildlife left," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a chance of recovery."

Possible Solutions

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishermen who catch sharks might face the dilemma of whether to feed their family, or return a threatened species to the ocean.

"Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they must feed their households?" asked a local expert. "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 continued, "we've got to act very quickly."