Nearly 200 feet down off the shore of Sicily, a diver working to cut away abandoned fishing nets filmed an unusual sight: a full-grown great white shark swimming past him.
Researchers say the clip may represent the Mediterranean's first underwater recording of an adult male great white shark in a region where the species has become so rare that some scientists describe it as a "ghost population."
What happened?
According to a report from National Geographic, the encounter happened in mid-May, when Derk Remmers was about three minutes into a cleanup dive in the Strait of Sicily and a roughly 13-foot great white suddenly appeared from the open water.
At the time, Remmers was volunteering with Healthy Seas Foundation, Ghost Diving, and the Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites. He was removing ghost nets — abandoned fishing gear that can trap sharks, turtles, and other marine life — from a submerged shipwreck about 50 miles offshore.
"My first thought was: 'I need to get the camera running or no one will ever believe us.' I felt my fingers shaking very much," Remmers told National Geographic. "It was just passing by and seemed as surprised by this encounter as we were."
Why does it matter?
National Geographic reported that Mediterranean great whites are a genetically distinct population that has been isolated from other great whites for about 3.2 million years. Now, they are critically endangered in the region.
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A 2019 study, cited by National Geographic, estimated that the population has dropped 61% since the latter half of the 20th century, and independent expert Alessandro De Maddalena believes the longer-term decline may be even more severe. Habitat loss, accidental capture, illegal catches, and low genetic diversity have all made recovery harder.
As apex predators, great whites help maintain marine food webs, and healthier seas support fisheries, coastal economies, and biodiversity.
The ghost nets that Remmers was cutting away are also part of a broader pollution problem, especially when lost gear continues to kill animals long after it has been discarded.
Scientists also believe the Strait of Sicily may be one of the species' last strongholds and an important nursery area, making cleanup efforts and stronger protections all the more urgent.
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What are people saying?
De Maddalena told National Geographic the footage is "important as a piece of the puzzle, especially because sightings like this tell us the species is still present in the area, despite the massive decrease recorded over the recent decades."
Carlo Cattano, a researcher at the Sicily Marine Centre of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn in Palermo, Italy, said, "Improving our understanding of critical habitats, identifying key hotspots, and clarifying the species' behavioral patterns would greatly facilitate conservation efficacy and future research efforts in the region."
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