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The iconic great white in the Mediterranean Sea are on the verge of vanishing, with poaching being a key factor to their rapid population drop.

This finding is based on investigations carried out by researchers, who partnered with an international conservation charity. They report that some of the most threatened species – such as the great white – are found on sale in marketplaces across Northern African nations.

Great white sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which prohibits to target them or to offer them for sale.

However, by monitoring fishing ports along the Mediterranean coast of North Africa, investigators found that at least 40 great white sharks have been killed there in just the past year.

Footage from social media showing sharks under protection being unloaded in North African ports has been confirmed.

One video showed a sizeable great white shark being dragged onto land from a vessel in Algeria. A separate video, recorded in Tunisia, shows parts of what appears to be a protected mako, which is also a threatened and protected species.

Final Refuge

The lead researcher, clarified that many shark species – white sharks in particular – had suffered a severe drop 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 plausible that they will go extinct in the coming years."

The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the global conservation union.

In their new mission to find and study the sharks, the team worked in the Sicilian Strait – an area known as a "key remaining habitat" in the Mediterranean for several sharks at risk.

An important goal of their expedition was to deploy a tracking device onto a shark – something that has not yet been accomplished in the Mediterranean Sea.

To try this, the researchers used more than three tonnes of fish bait – including frozen mackerel and tuna scraps and a substantial volume of scent oil to create a "scent trail" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

Even after a fortnight of effort – laying bait, collecting water samples to look for genetic material and using subsea cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any specimens.

They captured only a brief glimpse of one shark on their submarine cameras.

"It's discouraging," the lead researcher said. "It just shows how damaged this ecosystem is."

As the team searched for surviving sharks, they also were informed that a juvenile great white had been taken in a regional fishery – just a short distance from where they were working.

It is not clear whether that animal was ensnared unintentionally in gear, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, estimates that over forty great white sharks have been taken along that coastline. "This is a lot for a critically endangered population," the researcher emphasized.

Protected Sharks Traded

The researchers, along with local partners, are observing various harbors in the region. Findings shows that protected sharks are caught, landed and offered for sale in countries including several North African nations.

The protective legislation are multifaceted. Currently, two dozen endangered species have treaty-based safeguards – like makos and hammerheads.

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

The agreement states "they must be released alive [where] possible". Those rules do not tackle incidental capture and enforcement is variable from nation to nation.

A marine advocate noted that his own research found multiple white 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 wildlife left," he said. "And if we can preserve this, there is a possibility of comeback."

Possible Solutions

In poorer communities in North Africa, fishing communities who catch sharks might face the decision of whether to provide for their families, or release a protected animal to the ocean.

"Why would they throw sharks back into the sea when they need food for their children?" asked a regional marine biologist. "If you support them and train them in more sustainable fishing, they will not catch these sharks."

An advocate added that if countries around the Mediterranean worked together, "there is hope."

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