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Great white sharks in the Mediterranean waters are in danger of disappearing, with poaching being a major contributor to their worrying decrease.

This assessment is based on studies conducted by experts, who worked alongside an marine preservation group. They indicate that some of the most threatened species – such as the great white – are being sold in fish markets across Northern African nations.

Great white sharks are one of more than 20 Mediterranean shark species shielded by international agreements, which prohibits to catch them or to trade them.

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

Videos shared online showing sharks under protection being unloaded in North African ports has been confirmed.

One video showed a large great white being pulled from a boat from a trawler in an Algerian port. Another, recorded in Tunisia, shows remains and fins of what looks like a protected mako, which is also a protected and endangered species.

Last Shark Stronghold

The lead researcher, clarified that many populations of sharks – particularly great whites – had declined dramatically in the Mediterranean in the last few decades.

"No other body of water is exploited as heavily as the Mediterranean Sea," he said. "The consequences of commercial fishing has been increasing... and it's likely that they will vanish in the near future."

The Mediterranean great whites is now designated as Critically Endangered by the key international body.

In their latest attempt to track and analyze the sharks, the team worked in the waters between Sicily and North Africa – an area identified as a "last stronghold" in the Mediterranean for several endangered shark species.

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

To attempt this, the researchers used over three tons of bait – including baitfish and hundreds of liters of scent oil to create a "fat slick" that many sharks can detect from a great distance.

Despite working for two weeks – chumming the water, taking samples of seawater to look for genetic material and using remote cameras – the researchers did not manage to find any specimens.

They captured only a fleeting sighting of one blue shark species on their submarine cameras.

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

While the team was searching for living sharks, they also learned that a small great white had been taken in a North African fishery – just not far from where they were working.

It is unknown whether that specimen was accidentally caught in gear, or if it was targeted.

The team, however, believes that more than 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 team, along with regional contacts, are monitoring several fishing ports in the region. Findings shows that sharks under protection are captured, brought to port, and sold in countries including the region.

The regulations safeguarding sharks are complex. Currently, two dozen endangered species have global protection – such as makos, angel sharks, 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 specifies "they must be returned to the sea alive [where] possible". Those rules do not address incidental capture and enforcement is variable from nation to nation.

A conservationist noted that his own inquiry found a number of sharks on sale. But, he said, there was a paradoxical element of hope in the fact that white sharks were being found in markets.

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

What Can Be Done?

In economically challenged regions 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 throw sharks back into the sea when they must feed their households?" asked a local expert. "If you support them and train them in more responsible fishing, they will not catch white sharks."

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

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