Volunteer divers recorded the first documented underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean on May 13 while removing abandoned nets from a wreck between Sicily and Tunisia. The Healthy Seas Foundation announced the sighting on June 8; diver Derk Remmers captured the footage and described the experience as extraordinary. The IUCN lists great whites as "critically endangered" in the Mediterranean, highlighting the conservation importance of removing ghost nets and protecting marine habitat.
Watch: Historic First Underwater Footage of a Great White Shark in the Mediterranean
Watch 'insane' first great white shark sighting in Mediterranean Sea
Through remarkable timing and a stroke of luck, volunteer divers recorded the first known underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean on May 13. The encounter occurred during a Healthy Seas Foundation "high-seas mission" to remove abandoned fishing nets and gear from an offshore shipwreck between Sicily and Tunisia, an area the organization describes as one of the Mediterranean's most heavily fished zones.
The Healthy Seas Foundation announced the sighting in a June 8 news release, noting that while occasional surface sightings of great whites have been reported in the region, an underwater encounter of this type had "never before been documented." The footage was captured by volunteer diver Derk Remmers, who told the BBC he nearly missed filming the animal because his "fingers were trembling."
"Statistically, it is way more likely to win the lotto jackpot than to meet such an iconic animal underwater. You spend decades diving wrecks and removing ghost nets, but nothing prepares you for a moment like this," Remmers said.
Remmers added: "An offshore underwater shark encounter in the Mediterranean is insane, yet we also went on with our diving plan to remove nets from the wreck, as this moment showed the importance of our work very clearly."
Why This Sighting Matters
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the great white shark as "critically endangered" in the Mediterranean. Ghost nets and abandoned fishing gear present ongoing hazards to marine life and to the recovery of vulnerable species. This encounter not only provides rare scientific and public insight into the presence of great whites in the central Mediterranean but also underscores the conservation value of removing derelict gear from sensitive habitats.
Researchers and conservation groups say the footage could help inform monitoring efforts and highlight the need for continued protection of shark habitat across the region. For now, the video stands as a rare and powerful reminder of both the vulnerability and resilience of marine predators in the Mediterranean Sea.
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