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These formidable predators in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with unlawful fishing practices being a significant driver to their rapid population drop.

This assessment is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who collaborated with an marine preservation group. They indicate that several critically endangered species – such as the great white – are appearing for sale in fish markets across the North African coast.

Great white sharks are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species safeguarded by global treaties, which renders it unlawful to target them or to sell them.

However, by surveying docks along the coastline of North Africa, investigators uncovered that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in just the past year.

Videos shared online showing endangered sharks being brought dead into North African ports has been authenticated.

One video showed a large great white being dragged onto land from a trawler in an Algerian port. Additional footage, recorded in Tunisia, shows parts of what looks like a protected mako, which is also a species at risk.

Last Shark Stronghold

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

"No other stretch of water is exploited as heavily as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The effects of large-scale fishing has been intensifying... and it's possible that they will go extinct in the coming years."

The Mediterranean white shark population is now classified as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

In their new mission to track and analyze the animals, the team worked in the Strait of Sicily – an area identified as a "final refuge" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

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

To try this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of chum – including baitfish and a substantial volume of tuna oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks can sense from far off.

Even after a fortnight of effort – laying bait, collecting water samples to test for environmental DNA and using underwater cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any animals to tag.

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

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

While the team was searching for remaining sharks, they also received reports that a young great white shark had been captured and killed in a North African fishery – just a short distance from where they were working.

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

The team, however, believes that in excess of 40 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 team, along with colleagues in North Africa, are observing various harbors in the region. Documentation shows that sharks under protection are taken and traded in countries including the region.

The protective legislation are complex. Currently, numerous species have global protection – including mako, angel, threshers and hammerheads.

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

The agreement mandates "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address incidental capture and compliance varies from country to country.

A conservationist noted that his own research found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a unexpected hopeful sign in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets.

"It shows that there is life remaining," he said. "And if we can protect 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 provide for their families, or return a threatened species 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 sustainable fishing, they will not catch protected species."

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

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