These Apex Predators Are on the Brink of Extinction in the Mediterranean Sea, Experts State

The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with poaching being a major contributor to their worrying decrease.

This finding is based on research by scientists, who worked alongside an ocean protection organization. They report that several critically endangered species – such as the great white – are being sold in ports across the North African coast.

These sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which renders it unlawful 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 brought dead into North African ports has been independently verified.

One video showed a sizeable great white shark being pulled from a boat from a vessel in Algeria. Additional footage, recorded in Tunisia, shows parts of what is believed to be a short-finned mako shark, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Last Shark Stronghold

The lead researcher, stated that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the past years.

"No other body of water is fished like the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been intensifying... and it's likely that they will vanish in the coming years."

The Mediterranean white shark population is now designated 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 "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

One key aim of their project was to attach a satellite tag onto a great white – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea.

To do this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of chum – including baitfish and hundreds of liters of fish oil to create a "oil slick" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

After two weeks of work – laying bait, taking samples of seawater to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers failed to encounter any animals to tag.

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

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

During their search for remaining sharks, they also were informed that a small great white had been taken in a regional fishery – just a short distance from where they were working.

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

The team, however, calculates that in excess of 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 scientists, along with regional contacts, are keeping watch on multiple ports in the region. Findings shows that sharks under protection are taken and traded in countries including several North African nations.

The rules that protect sharks are complicated. Currently, numerous species have treaty-based safeguards – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

An multinational pact states that those species cannot be "retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold or displayed or offered for sale".

The agreement states "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules are not designed for unintentional catch and implementation differs from one place to another.

A conservationist noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining in the fact that white sharks were turning up for sale.

"It shows that there is life remaining," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a hope for revival."

Possible Solutions

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the choice of whether to feed their family, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they require sustenance for their families?" asked a regional marine biologist. "If you provide alternatives and education in more responsible fishing, they will not catch protected species."

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

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