Divers Film First Underwater Great White in Mediterranean

Although great white sharks have occasionally been seen at the surface in the Mediterranean, the species had never before been documented on camera underwater in the region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Mediterranean population as critically endangered, and scientists believe decades of overfishing have driven the apex predator close to extinction in these waters. Remmers stressed how improbable the sighting was, telling Euronews that "statistically, it is way more likely to win the lotto jackpot than to meet such an iconic animal underwater." Experts emphasised that the public should not be alarmed, as the shark was spotted far from shore and showed no aggression toward the divers.

Conservationists hope the rare sighting will encourage Mediterranean governments to establish marine protected areas. The footage was filmed during a mission to remove so-called "ghost nets" — discarded fishing gear that traps and kills marine life. Healthy Seas director Veronika Mikos said the encounter was a reminder of "how much life can still exist in offshore Mediterranean waters and how important it is to protect it from preventable threats like abandoned fishing gear or overfishing." The location is considered a key biodiversity hotspot, yet it is also one of the most heavily exploited fishing areas in the Mediterranean. Remmers estimated that between 1% and 10% of the world's commercial fishing gear is lost each year, potentially amounting to more than half a million tonnes of debris annually.