Great white shark spotted underwater in Mediterranean Sea for the first time ever

The remarkable encounter occurred while a team from Healthy Seas was clearing abandoned fishing nets from a shipwreck that is situated in the Strait of Sicily.

Although great whites have previously been observed at the surface in Mediterranean waters, no diver had ever filmed one beneath the waves until now.

Derk Remmers, who recorded the footage, said: "Statistically, it is way more likely to win the lotto jackpot than to meet such an iconic animal underwater.

"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."

The Strait of Sicily represents both a crucial biodiversity hotspot and one of the Mediterranean's most intensively fished zones.

Veronika Mikos, Director of Healthy Seas, also said: "What makes this encounter so powerful is not only the shark itself, but the context in which it happened."

She added: "Moments like this remind us 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."

Dr Carlo Cattano, a researcher at the Sicily Marine Centre of the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, noted that most existing knowledge about Mediterranean white sharks derives from dead specimens caught by fishing operations.

He said: "Observations like this are extremely valuable for improving our understanding of the distribution, habits, and behaviour of this critically endangered species, whose survival is threatened by human activities."

For those planning Mediterranean holidays, shark experts have moved to calm any concerns about the sighting.

Dr Lauren Smith, a shark specialist at Saltwater Life, described the footage as genuinely encouraging news for conservation efforts.

She told the Daily Mail: "Historically, great whites were far more abundant and widely distributed throughout the region, but centuries of fishing pressure and overexploitation have reduced them to a critically endangered population."

Crucially, the shark was filmed in offshore waters, well away from coastal beach resorts frequented by tourists.

Dr Smith added: "The ocean is their domain, and encounters like this should inspire respect and appreciation rather than fear."

The species once thrived across the Mediterranean before human activity decimated their numbers.

The Mediterranean sighting follows recent warnings from researchers that great white sharks could soon appear in British waters as global temperatures rise.

Scientists studying whale fossils containing preserved shark tooth fragments have suggested that climate change may recreate conditions that once allowed the ancestors of these predators to hunt in the southern North Sea.

"Climate change may recreate the conditions that allowed the ancestors of great white sharks to hunt in these waters," researchers wrote in a blog on The Conversation, referring to the region between the UK, Belgium and Denmark.

While no great white has been officially recorded in British waters, numerous unconfirmed sightings have been reported around Cornwall and northern Scotland, raising the possibility that these apex predators may already be present.

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