Divers record rare great white shark encounter in Mediterranean

A group of divers conducting an environmental mission in the Sicily Channel, between the Italian and Tunisian coasts, had a rare and startling encounter with a great white shark. The divers were engaged in removing fishing nets from a shipwreck as part of their efforts to protect marine life.

As they worked, a great white shark emerged from the blue depths, approaching the divers with apparent curiosity. One diver, Derk Remmers, managed to capture the encounter on camera, documenting the large predator accompanied by pilot fish. While great white sharks are known to inhabit the Mediterranean, this footage marks only the third known underwater recording of the species in the region.

The recording, published on June 8, has generated significant interest. However, claims that it is the first underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean have been contested. Marine biologist Dr. Alessandro De Maddalena, a leading expert on Mediterranean great white sharks, notes two previous instances of underwater recordings.

The first documented recording dates back to the late 1960s, captured by dive operator Michel Lobreau near the Egadi Islands off Favignana, Italy. The second recording occurred in the 1970s, when Lorenzo Millan used a waterproof camera submerged from the surface to film a great white shark estimated to be 5 meters long near Tripoli, Libya, as it swam near a tuna net.