Great white shark filmed in rare Mediterranean encounter
A diver has captured the first underwater image of an adult great white shark in its natural Mediterranean habitat.
Derk Remmers was one of three divers working in the waters between Sicily and Tunisia when the massive predator suddenly appeared near a shipwreck where his team was working.
The Healthy Seas conservation group was salvaging abandoned fishing nets from a wreck in the Strait of Sicily when the rare incident occurred.
Mr Remmers told BBC News: “We saw this huge shark; it was pretty obvious it was a huge shark.
“It looked and looked like a white shark.”
The shark swam close to the divers, then disappeared and returned for another look.
He said: “The shark was quite close to the wreckage, quite close to us in fact. It swam away, turned around and came back.”
Rather than being afraid of the shark, Mr. Remmers admitted that his biggest worry was missing the moment on camera.
He said: “I think my biggest fear was not being able to work the camera, not being able to record this rare event.”
Mr Remmers stressed that this sight should not alarm beachgoers.
He said: “It’s important to me that no one is afraid because this was offshore, in the central Mediterranean, not close to a coast where people would feel in danger.
“This may be the first underwater image of an adult white shark in its habitat in the Mediterranean… it sank a little bit, which was pretty special.”
The sighting comes as environmentalists warn that great whites in the Mediterranean are on the brink of extinction.
Research by the conservation group Blue Marine Foundation shows that at least 40 great white sharks were killed and sold as food in North African markets last year alone.
The Shark Trust classifies Mediterranean great whites as an extremely rare, critically endangered species.
Paul Cox, CEO of The Shark Trust, said, as quoted by The Telegraph: “We have known about the existence of great white sharks in the Mediterranean for a long time. The video shared of them in the Strait of Sicily on World Oceans Day is exciting.”
“This suggests that, perhaps despite the difficulties faced by the regional population, these extraordinary animals have managed to establish themselves in the region.”
Healthy Seas director Veronika Mikos added to the publication: “What makes this encounter so powerful is not just the shark itself, but also the context in which it took place.
“We were there to dismantle the ghost nets that trap marine life in the shipwreck ecosystem, a biodiversity hotspot. Moments like this remind us of how much life can exist in the waters off the Mediterranean.”
