Great White sharks risk Mediterranean extinction

The number of great white sharks in the Mediterranean is dwindling, as researchers struggled to spot a single one following four expeditions.

A team of researchers, working in partnership with UK charity Blue Marine Foundation, told the BBC that great white sharks face extinction due to the intensification of industrial fishing and illegal fishing practices.

“The impact of industrial fishing has been intensifying... and it’s plausible that they will go extinct in the near future,” lead researcher Francesco Ferretti from the US university Virginia Tech said.

Between 2021 and 2023, researchers carried out three expeditions in the Strait of Sicily, the stretch of sea between Sicily and North Africa that scientists describe as a key refuge for threatened shark species. Despite deploying bait and underwater cameras, they did not record a single great white shark.

However, the study was able to identify the presence of white shark DNA in four samples out of 159 at the Egadi Islands, Pantelleria Banks and the northern and southern ends of Lampedusa.

“These results confirmed that white sharks were in the area, spatially (within 25 km) and temporally (within 48 hrs) close to at least four sampling locations during our expedition,” the study said.

The study noted “industrial fishing” has contributed to the “dangerously low” number of great white sharks in the Mediterranean. It pointed out that the Sicilian Channel is among the best spots for fishing, with at least 13 nations fishing here, including Malta.

Researchers also told the BBC they had embarked on a two-week expedition in the same area in 2025 and, once again, found no sharks.

But the foundation and researchers discovered at least 40 great whites were killed in 2025 alone, after monitoring several North African ports.

The BBC also found, and independently verified, footage of protected sharks being brought dead into North African ports.

Reacting to the study, National Aquarium curator Daniel De Castro said the findings “confirm what everyone was thinking”, given that great white shark sightings are already very rare.

Castro pointed out the fact that great white sharks can travel long distances, making them even harder to spot.

The belief is that mature female great whites come to the Mediterranean Sea to give birth.

“Overfishing is the biggest threat to great whites,” he said, pointing out there were fewer fish in the Mediterranean for these sharks to feed on.

“The problem is that fish, such as tuna or mackerel, are being harvested too early, before they get the chance to breed and spawn more fish. We also tend to catch fish too early,” he said.

“By catching fish too early you are also getting rid of another generation. As a result, the main predator is the one which suffers the most,” he pointed out.

Regarding fishermen catching great white sharks, he said that most of these would be bycatches.

Given researchers’ struggle to spot a great white, Castro said it was very impressive that there was a spotting of a great white shark in Sliema in May 2025. The video of a shark captured in Qui-si-sana caused a dispute between shark experts. While Castro believes it was a great white, other experts said it might be a blue shark.