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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are on the verge of vanishing, with unlawful fishing practices being a significant driver to their alarming decline.

This finding is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who partnered with an ocean protection organization. They report that various at-risk marine animals – such as the great white – are being sold in ports across Northern African nations.

Great whites are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which prohibits to fish for them or to sell them.

However, by observing harbors along the coastline of North Africa, investigators uncovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in just the past year.

Videos shared online showing protected sharks being landed at North African ports has been authenticated.

One piece of footage showed a big shark being dragged onto land from a fishing boat in Algeria. Additional footage, taken in a Tunisian location, shows parts of what is believed to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Remaining Habitat

The principal scientist, explained that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had plummeted in the Mediterranean in the past years.

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

The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

In their new mission to locate and research the animals, the team worked in the waters between Sicily and North Africa – an area known as a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several threatened shark species.

One key aim of their project was to deploy a tracking device onto a shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.

To do this, the researchers used over three tons of fish bait – including baitfish and 500 litres of scent oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can smell from hundreds of metres away.

After two weeks of work – baiting the ocean, collecting water samples to look for genetic material and using subsea cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any animals to tag.

They captured only a short sighting of one shark on their submarine cameras.

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

While the team was searching for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a small great white had been taken in a regional fishery – just a short distance from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that shark was caught by accident in gear, or if it was targeted.

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.

Protected Sharks Traded

The researchers, along with regional contacts, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Evidence shows that protected sharks are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including several North African nations.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are multifaceted. Currently, 24 threatened species have global protection – such as makos, angel sharks, threshers, and hammerheads.

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

The agreement specifies "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for unintentional catch and compliance varies from one place to another.

A conservationist noted that his own research found several great whites 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 life remaining," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a chance of recovery."

The Path Forward

In economically challenged regions in North Africa, fishers who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to earn a livelihood, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they discard their catch into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a local expert. "If you support them and train them in more selective fishing, they will not catch protected species."

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

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