Technical divers removing ghost nets from an offshore wreck between Sicily and Tunisia captured what may be the first diver-filmed underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean.
Adult great white shark in the Mediterranean
A ghost-net removal mission in the Strait of Sicily has produced what may be the first underwater footage captured by divers of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea.
The encounter came about during a conservation expedition organised by Healthy Seas in partnership with Ghost Diving and SDSS (The Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites). The team was working on an offshore shipwreck between Sicily and Tunisia, removing abandoned fishing nets that continue to trap and kill marine life.
The shark was filmed underwater by Ghost Diving volunteer Derk Remmers while technical divers were carrying out recovery operations on the wreck. According to the organisations involved, surface sightings of great white sharks have occasionally been reported in the Mediterranean, but diver-filmed underwater footage of an adult animal in its natural habitat has not previously been documented.
More than a shark sighting
While the shark encounter is attracting considerable attention, the mission itself focused on a longstanding conservation problem.
Ghost nets—abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear—can continue catching and killing marine life for years after they have been lost. Previous surveys of the wreck documented endangered loggerhead turtles and large fish trapped in fishing gear entangled on the structure. Divers recovered sections of net that continued to pose a threat to wildlife inhabiting the site.
The wreck functions as an artificial reef, attracting a diverse range of species. Yet the same structures that provide habitat can become deadly traps when covered by abandoned fishing gear.
Mediterranean hotspot
The Strait of Sicily is recognised as one of the Mediterranean’s most important biodiversity hotspots, but it is also among the region’s most heavily exploited fishing grounds. Researchers working with the project say observations of great white sharks in the area remain exceptionally rare.
Dr Carlo Cattano of the Sicily Marine Centre at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn said that most information about Mediterranean great white sharks comes from dead specimens caught in fishing operations.
He noted that observations of living animals are valuable because they can improve understanding of the species’ distribution, behaviour and habitat use. The Mediterranean population of great white sharks is considered critically endangered and encounters numerous pressures from human activities.
Science and conservation
Alongside the clean-up operation, the team collected environmental DNA (eDNA) samples and conducted biodiversity monitoring around the wreck. Researchers hope the information will add to a better understanding of the species present in the area and help guide future conservation measures.
For divers, the footage offers a rare glimpse of one of the ocean’s most iconic predators. For conservationists, however, it may carry a wider message.
The encounter occurred not in a remote wilderness but at a site littered with lost fishing gear, where divers were actively working to remove threats to marine life. The presence of a great white shark acts as a reminder that important predators still survive in parts of the Mediterranean—and that protecting the ecosystems that support them remains an urgent challenge.
