A great white shark observed in the Mediterranean, off the coast of Var

It is a precious appearance in the Mediterranean. A great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) was observed and filmed by a boater off the Var coast, according to information from France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur published Monday November 18. “The individual observed off the coast of Port-Cros is indeed a great white shark. I think it's a young one, not a juvenile, but not yet an adult.”according to Nicolas Ziani, scientific director of the Phocaean Shark Study Group (GPER) cited by the television channel.

The alert was given four days earlier on Facebook by Matt Lapinski, biologist and member of the Citizen Participatory Observatory of Elasmobranchs [requins et raies] from the French Mediterranean (Elasmed).

“At the beginning of November, our friends and partners of the Apecs association [Association pour l’étude et la conservation des sélaciens] received an observation of a large shark measuring 3.5 to 4.5 meters crossing the surface off the Var coast,” he wrote, with supporting photos.

« Menace d’extinction »

According to Mr. Lapinski, the analysis of the observer's data, transmitted to the National Museum of Natural History, made it possible to identify the species to which the animal belongs. “Great news for this species, classified as critically endangered and having almost disappeared from our French coasts, and even from the Mediterranean due to very disparate levels of protection depending on the country”, he specified, adding that, since this first appearance at the beginning of November, “the individual was not re-observed”.

The great white shark is classified as “critically endangered” on the European red list of threatened species, and classified as “vulnerable” on a global scale, according to the National Inventory of Natural Heritage.