Great White Shark in the Mediterranean: First ever footage captured – Experts confirm risk level

Volunteer divers on a mission to remove abandoned fishing nets from a shipwreck in the Strait of Sicily have captured what experts regard as the first underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea.

The team worked in waters between Sicily and Tunisia, where the wreck supports a rich variety of marine life despite heavy fishing activity in the region.

Derk Remmers from Ghost Diving filmed the encounter. He talked about how the probability of meeting such an iconic animal underwater far exceeds the odds of winning a major lottery prize. Remmers added that such an underwater meeting in the Mediterranean counts as extraordinary, though the team pressed on with net clearance plans.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ghost Diving (@ghostdivingorg)

Ghost net mission yields historic shark footage

Healthy Seas organised the operation in cooperation with Ghost Diving and the Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites as part of broader work to remove ghost fishing gear and monitor biodiversity on Mediterranean shipwrecks. Earlier dives revealed trapped marine animals such as endangered turtles.

Veronika Mikos, director of Healthy Seas, explained that the value of the encounter stems from its setting during net removal around a shipwreck ecosystem rich in biodiversity. She stressed that such experiences show how much marine life continues in offshore Mediterranean waters and why protection from threats like discarded gear or overfishing remains important.

Scientific input for the project came from researchers including Dr Marco Milazzo of the University of Palermo and Dr Carlo Cattano of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station.

Young Great White Shark confirmed in Spanish waters

A young great white shark measuring approximately two metres in length was caught by accident in April 2023 within the Spanish exclusive economic zone. Genetic analysis confirmed the identification, providing one of the few verified records of the species in Spanish waters during recent decades.

Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography worked with the University of Cadiz to document the case, released in February, and some connect the April timing to bluefin tuna migration in the area.

Knowledge gaps remain on Mediterranean shark distribution

Most understanding of great white shark presence in the Mediterranean comes from dead individuals retrieved by fishing operations. This reliance makes it hard for researchers to map distribution and behaviour patterns of the species across the basin.

Boat sightings occur occasionally yet filmed underwater encounters lacked prior documentation. Carlo Cattano from the Sicily Marine Centre at the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station called such observations extremely valuable for advancing understanding of distribution, habits and behaviour in this critically endangered species.

Great White Sharks indicate healthy marine environments

Great white sharks function as apex predators that link different marine regions through extensive migrations. These long-lived animals, capable of reaching 73 years in age, rank among the world’s most threatened wildlife, with more than half of shark and ray species in the Mediterranean facing some level of threat and a quarter classified as critically endangered based on International Union for Conservation of Nature assessments. As powerful predators, they hold the capacity to cause injury during the rare instances of close contact with humans.

Safety considerations for Mediterranean visitors

Tourists frequently ask whether great white sharks present dangers to people enjoying Mediterranean beaches and waters. Records from Spanish waters show documented human incidents have stayed exceptionally scarce over the last 160 years.

Another question concerns the proper response during a potential encounter. Marine experts advise staying calm, avoiding sudden movements or splashing and moving slowly toward shore or a boat, anything that might startle the animal.

Raquel from Madrid, an experienced diver with sharks, explains, “This type of shark likes to eat seals, not humans. When they spot a surfboard of similar silhouetted against the sun above, they might mistake it for a big, fat seal, and take a nibble to see. But, they don’t go out of their way to attack people. They’re really not interested in us.”

The risk to Mediterranean bathers is, therefore, negligible to none.

Overfishing represents main pressure on regional sharks

Excessive harvesting constitutes the leading cause of shark population declines in the Mediterranean. Roughly 80 per cent of fisheries in the area suffer from overexploitation. Bottom trawling by about 10 per cent of the fleet accounts for over half of catches and often harms juveniles, non-target species and vulnerable seabeds.

Warming seas may expand suitable habitats northward

Rising ocean temperatures could recreate conditions that once welcomed great white shark ancestors to hunt in northern waters. Researchers predict the species might return to the southern North Sea region between the United Kingdom, Belgium and Denmark.