Three divers captured rare underwater footage of an adult great white shark off the coast of Sicily on May 13, 2026 [1], [3].
The encounter is significant because it is believed to be the first underwater video of the elusive shark species in the Mediterranean Sea [2].
The team, which included diver Derk Remmers, was operating in the Strait of Sicily between Italy and Tunisia [1], [5]. The divers were on a mission to remove abandoned fishing nets from a shipwreck to protect local wildlife from entanglement [1], [5], [4].
Remmers recorded the footage while operating at a depth of more than 132 feet below sea level [5]. The video shows the adult shark navigating the waters near the shipwreck site where the team was working [2], [3].
While the footage is widely described as rare, some reports emphasize the belief that this is the first such recording in the region [2]. Other accounts focus on the rarity of the sighting without explicitly claiming it is the first ever captured on video [3].
Three divers were present during the operation [1]. The mission focused on clearing "ghost nets" — discarded fishing gear that continues to trap marine life — from the wreckage [1], [5].
“The encounter is believed to be the first underwater video of the elusive shark in the Mediterranean Sea.”
The sighting of an adult great white shark in the Strait of Sicily provides rare empirical evidence of the species' presence in the Mediterranean. Because these sharks are elusive and difficult to track, such footage helps marine biologists understand their movement patterns and habitat use in a region where they are seldom documented.
