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Great white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea are in danger of disappearing, with unlawful fishing practices being a major contributor to their rapid population drop.

This conclusion is based on research by scientists, who collaborated with an international conservation charity. They report that several critically endangered species – including great white sharks – are being sold in ports across North Africa.

Great whites are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which makes it illegal to fish for them or to trade them.

However, by surveying docks along the coastline of North Africa, the research team uncovered that a minimum of forty great white sharks have been caught and killed there in just the past year.

Videos shared online showing endangered sharks being unloaded in North African ports has been independently verified.

One piece of footage showed a large great white being dragged onto land from a trawler in Algeria. A separate video, taken in a Tunisian location, shows parts of what appears to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a threatened and protected species.

Remaining Habitat

The lead researcher, explained that many populations of sharks – white sharks in particular – had suffered a severe drop in the Mediterranean in the last few decades.

"No other body of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been intensifying... and it's possible that they will go extinct in the foreseeable future."

The Mediterranean white shark population is now classified as Critically Endangered by the global conservation union.

In their latest attempt to track and analyze 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.

A primary objective of their mission was to fit a satellite tracking tag onto a great white – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea.

To attempt 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 sense from far off.

Despite working for two weeks – chumming the water, collecting water samples to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any specimens.

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

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

As the team searched for living sharks, they also received reports that a young great white shark had been taken in a regional fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is unknown whether that specimen was caught by accident in gear, or if it was hunted.

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

Illegal Shark Trade

The scientists, along with colleagues in North Africa, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Documentation shows that endangered sharks are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including the region.

The protective legislation are multifaceted. Currently, two dozen endangered species have international legal protection – like makos and hammerheads.

An regional treaty states that those species cannot be "kept on boats, transferred, landed, stored, or sold".

The agreement mandates "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle accidental bycatch and enforcement is variable from one place to another.

A expert 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 being found in markets.

"It shows that there is animals still there," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a possibility of comeback."

Possible Solutions

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishers who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to feed their family, or throw back an endangered shark to the ocean.

"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they must feed their households?" asked a scientist. "If you provide alternatives and education in more selective fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

A conservationist added that if countries around the Mediterranean joined forces, "there is hope."

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