Great white shark recorded for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea

Divers – volunteers working in the Strait of Sicily – managed to film a great white shark. This is the first such case in history. Conservation activists treat the event not only as a curiosity, but also as a signal that the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem requires special protection.

Great white shark, an unexpected encounter in the Mediterranean Sea

Volunteers cooperating with the Healthy Seas organization were not diving to document underwater life. The recording of the great white shark was made accidentally. The purpose of the underwater expedition was to remove ghost nets from a shipwreck. According to Derk Remmers, one of the divers, between 3 and 10 percent of fishing nets used at a given time remain on the seabed each year – they pose a threat to sea turtles, dolphins and sharks, among others.

While cleaning a shipwreck in the Strait of Sicily, a shark appeared near the divers. Derk Remmers told CNN that he was initially frightened. However, he later focused only on finding and turning on his camera to film the great white shark in its natural environment. He did not stop recording until the dive was over.

Was the encounter with a shark in the Mediterranean Sea dangerous?

Derk Remmers says his hands were shaking while holding the camera. Later, however, he calmed down because he remembered that humans are not part of a great white shark’s menu. I hoped the shark knew that too, the diver joked.

In reality, Remmers may have had reasons for concern. According to data from the California Academy of Sciences, attacks by great white sharks on humans do occur. Fortunately, they are quite rare: 99 such cases have been recorded in California, of which 9 were fatal. This amounts to an average of 1.8 great white shark attacks per year over the last 10 years.

Great white sharks rarely treat humans as food. Injuries and fatalities most often result from bites. Scientists from the Natural History Museum in Tring, United Kingdom, point out that sharks may do this to test whether a potential prey is suitable for consumption. It turns out that humans are poor-quality food. However, this does not mean that contact with great white sharks is safe. Their teeth are large and their jaws powerful enough that even a light bite can cause human death.

Why does the recording of a great white shark matter for nature conservation?

For activists from the Healthy Seas Foundation, the recording of a great white shark swimming in the Mediterranean Sea is proof that this vulnerable ecosystem requires special protection. Veronika Mikos, the organization’s president, draws attention to how great a threat shipwrecks covered in fishing nets pose to these sharks. She also emphasizes that the footage captured by divers is evidence of the extraordinary biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea.

Dr Carlo Cattano, a researcher at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, points to another value of the recording. Most of our knowledge about great white sharks in the Mediterranean came from dead specimens, mostly caught in fisheries. Observing live sharks gives us an extraordinary opportunity to better understand the distribution, habits and behavior of endangered species whose survival depends on human actions, he says.

The recording of a great white shark is therefore not merely a natural curiosity. It is a signal that the underwater world of the Mediterranean Sea is richer than we think and deserves even more intensive protection.