Volunteer Divers Film Adult Great White Shark in Strait of Sicily During Net Removal

A team of volunteer technical divers captured what is believed to be the first-ever underwater footage of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean Sea during a mission in the Strait of Sicily.

“L'eccezionale avvistamento nel Canale di Sicilia durante una missione per rimuovere le reti fantasma dal Mediterraneo Un grande squalo bianco adulto è stato filmato nel suo habitat naturale sott'acqua per la prima volta nel Mar Mediterraneo”

Adnkronos

The dive involved volunteers with Ghost Diving and the Healthy Seas Foundation removing abandoned fishing nets from a deep shipwreck, with the encounter described as occurring in the Strait of Sicily while they worked on a relitto between Sicilia e Tunisia.

Adnkronos

Volunteer diver Derk Remmers told the BBC that "Le mie dita tremavano, è stato un incontro davvero speciale," describing how the shark swam near the divers, then moved away and returned.

Remmers said he did not have fear because the shark was "si trovava in una parte centrale del Mediterraneo, lontano dalle coste" and did not represent a danger for people.

Multiple outlets tied the footage to Derk Remmers, who filmed the encounter while working with Ghost Diving and Healthy Seas Foundation on removing ghost nets.

Adnkronos said the images were captured by "un gruppo di subacquei volontari della fondazione Healthy Seas insieme alle organizzazioni Ghost Diving e SDSS" while they worked on a relitto tra Sicilia e Tunisia.

BBC

The BBC described the interaction as "pretty special" and said the sighting was thought to be the first underwater footage of an adult Great White shark ever filmed in the Mediterranean in its natural habitat.

In the same BBC account, Remmers said, "The shark was pretty close to us [...] And in fact my fingers were trembling when I was trying to get the camera operating," as he tried to keep the camera working.

The mission’s focus on removing abandoned fishing nets was presented as part of a broader conservation effort, with the Guardian saying the sighting happened during a mission organised by the NGO Healthy Seas Foundation in partnership with Ghost Diving and the Society for Documentation of Submerged Sites to remove abandoned fishing nets.

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BFM

The Guardian added that Healthy Seas said the video was believed to be the first underwater footage captured of an adult great white shark in the Mediterranean in its natural habitat.

The BBC warned that scientists fear the species could disappear from the region altogether, while also saying people shouldn't be concerned because the shark was spotted many miles offshore.

Healthy Seas director Veronika Mikos framed the encounter as a reminder of what can still exist offshore, saying "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," according to NDTV.