JAWS shark spotted in Mediterranean Sea for first time
In a moment that has left shark scientists buzzing, an adult great white shark has been filmed underwater in the Mediterranean Sea for what is believed to be the first time ever.
The remarkable encounter took place in the Strait of Sicily, between Sicily and Tunisia, where a team of technical divers were carrying out a mission to remove deadly "ghost nets" from a shipwreck. Instead of just finding abandoned fishing gear, they came face-to-face with one of the ocean's most elusive apex predators.
Veteran diver Derk Remmers was descending to around 40 metres when a large shape emerged from the blue. Moments later, he realised he was looking at an adult great white shark. While surface sightings have occasionally been reported in Mediterranean waters, underwater footage of a living adult in its natural habitat has never previously been documented.
"I think all of us were surprised," Remmers said after the encounter, admitting his hands were shaking as he scrambled to get his camera ready. Fortunately for the divers, the shark showed little interest in them and soon disappeared back into the deep.
The sighting is particularly significant because Mediterranean great whites are considered critically endangered. Scientists believe only a small population remains, with decades of overfishing and declining tuna stocks taking a heavy toll on their numbers.
The encounter also highlights the importance of the divers' original mission. The team successfully removed abandoned fishing nets from the wreck site, where previous surveys had found turtles and other marine life trapped by the discarded gear.
For many readers, the sighting will instantly bring to mind Jaws, the 1975 blockbuster that forever changed public perceptions of sharks. The shark filmed in the Mediterranean is the very same species featured in the movie — the great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias). While Jaws portrayed great whites as relentless man-eaters, decades of scientific research have revealed a very different reality. Great whites are intelligent apex predators that play a vital role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems, and attacks on humans remain extremely rare. This extraordinary encounter offers a chance to appreciate the species not as a movie monster, but as one of the ocean's most remarkable and misunderstood animals.
For shark enthusiasts, the footage offers a rare glimpse into one of the Mediterranean's greatest mysteries. For conservationists, it serves as a powerful reminder that these legendary predators are still out there — and still worth fighting for.
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