Illegal fishing pushes Mediterranean great white sharks toward extinction: Study

ISTANBUL

Great white sharks in the Mediterranean Sea face the risk of extinction as illegal fishing continues to drive a sharp decline in their population, according to new research.

Research by US scientists, working in partnership with the UK-based Blue Marine Foundation, has found that some of the most threatened species, including great white sharks, are being sold in North African fish markets, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Monitoring of fishing ports along North Africa’s Mediterranean coast revealed that at least 40 great white sharks were killed there in 2025 alone.

Great white sharks are among more than 20 shark species in the Mediterranean protected under international law, making their capture or sale illegal.

Lead researcher Francesco Ferretti told the BBC that intense industrial fishing has driven a sharp decline in Mediterranean white shark populations, raising the risk of their extinction in the near future.

The monitoring of the researchers showed that protected sharks are being caught, landed and offered for sale in countries, including Tunisia and Algeria.

Shark protection rules in the Mediterranean are complex, with 24 threatened species, including mako, angel, thresher and hammerhead sharks, covered by international legal protections.

An agreement signed by the EU and 23 Mediterranean countries bans these species from being retained, landed, sold or offered for sale and requires their release alive where possible, but the rules do not address accidental bycatch and enforcement varies by country.