The iconic great white in the Mediterranean basin are on the verge of vanishing, with poaching being a key factor to their rapid population drop.
This conclusion is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who collaborated with an marine preservation group. They note that some of the most threatened species – such as the great white – are found on sale in marketplaces across North Africa.
Great whites are one of in excess of 20 Mediterranean shark species safeguarded by global treaties, which prohibits to catch them or to trade them.
However, by monitoring fishing ports along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, investigators uncovered that no fewer than 40 great white sharks have been slaughtered in that region in just the past year.
Videos shared online showing endangered sharks being landed at North African ports has been authenticated.
One piece of footage showed a big shark being pulled from a boat from a trawler in an Algerian port. Additional footage, filmed in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what appears to be a protected mako, which is also a protected and endangered species.
Remaining Habitat
The project head, stated that many populations of sharks – great whites especially – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in recent decades.
"No other sea is subjected to such fishing pressure as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The impact of industrial fishing has been intensifying... and it's likely that they will go extinct in the near future."
The Mediterranean great whites is now classified as Critically Endangered by the key international body.
In their latest attempt to find and study the sharks, the team worked in the waters between Sicily and North Africa – an area considered a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.
A primary objective of their project was to deploy a tracking device onto a white shark – something that has remained unachieved in the Mediterranean Sea.
To do this, the researchers used a large amount of fish bait – including frozen fish parts and hundreds of liters of tuna oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.
After two weeks of work – baiting the ocean, taking samples of seawater to search for shark DNA and using remote cameras – the researchers were unable to locate any animals to tag.
They captured only a brief glimpse of one blue shark on their underwater cameras.
"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how depleted this ecosystem is."
While the team was searching for surviving sharks, they also received reports that a small great white had been captured and killed in a regional fishery – just 20 nautical miles from where they were working.
It is uncertain whether that animal was ensnared unintentionally in fishing gear, or if it was targeted.
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 regional contacts, are observing various harbors in the region. Findings shows that protected sharks are taken and traded in countries including the region.
The protective legislation are complicated. Currently, two dozen endangered species have treaty-based safeguards – like makos and hammerheads.
An regional treaty states that those species cannot be "retained on board, transhipped, landed, transferred, stored, sold or displayed or offered for sale".
The agreement specifies "they must be released unharmed and alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address incidental capture and compliance varies from one place to another.
A conservationist noted that his own inquiry found multiple white sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a seeming silver lining in the fact that white sharks were appearing in trade.
"It shows that there is animals still there," he said. "And if we can protect this, there is a chance of recovery."
The Path Forward
In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to feed their family, 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 regional marine biologist. "If you assist and guide them in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch these sharks."
A conservationist added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope."
"But," he stated, "we've got to act very quickly."
