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received: 2020-06-17                 DOI 10.19233/ASHN.2020.21
REPORT ON A GREAT WHITE SHARK CARCHARODON CARCHARIAS 
OBSERVED OFF LAMPEDUSA, ITALY
Francesco TIRALONGO
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea, Avola, Italy
e-mail: francesco.tiralongo@unict.it
Clara MONACO
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Italy
MareCamp Association, Aci Castello (CT), Italy
e-mail: clamonaco@unict.it
Alessandro DE MADDALENA
Shark Museum, 26 Forest Hill Road, Simon’s Town, 7995 Cape Town, South Africa
e-mail: alessandrodemaddalena@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
A female great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) estimated at 500 cm was observed on 23 May 2020 near 
Lampedusa, in the Pelagie Islands, Italy. This record is of special relevance given the importance of the Strait of 
Sicily as a parturition ground and nursery area for this species, which is classified as critically endangered in the 
Mediterranean Sea by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Key words: great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias, Lampedusa, Italy, Mediterranean Sea
SEGNALAZIONE DI UNO SQUALO BIANCO CARCHARODON CARCHARIAS 
OSSERVATO AL LARGO DI LAMPEDUSA, ITALIA
SINTESI
Una femmina di squalo bianco (Carcharodon carcharias) di lunghezza stimata pari a 500 cm, è stata osservata 
il 23 maggio 2020 presso Lampedusa, nelle Isole Pelagie, Italia. Tale caso è di particolare interesse a causa dell’im-
portanza del Canale di Sicilia quale area di parto e di nursery per la specie che è classificata come in pericolo 
critico di estinzione nel mar Mediterraneo dall’Unione Internazionale per la Conservazione della Natura (IUCN).
Parole chiave: squalo bianco, Carcharodon carcharias, Lampedusa, Italia, Mediterraneo
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INTRODUCTION
Since 1996, the Italian Great White Shark Data 
Bank (Banca Dati Italiana Squalo Bianco) has col-
lected a substantial amount of information regarding 
historical and recent records on the great white shark, 
Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), from the 
Mediterranean Sea. This data include information on 
size, distribution, habitat, behaviour, reproduction, 
diet, fishery, and attacks on humans (De Maddalena, 
2000a, 2000b, 2002, 2006; Celona et al., 2001, 2006; 
De Maddalena & Heim, 2012; De Maddalena & Zuffa, 
2009; De Maddalena et al., 2001, 2003; Galaz & De 
Maddalena, 2004). An accurate recording of new ob-
servations of great white sharks in the Mediterranean 
area is a fundamental part of this ongoing research 
programme. Data on the presence of the species in the 
Mediterranean Sea have also been reported in recent 
years by Boldrocchi et al. (2017), Kabasakal (2014, 
2016), Kabasakal & Gedikoğlu (2008), Kabasakal et 
al. (2018).
In the present article, we report the record of a 
large great white shark spotted in May 2020 by sport 
fishermen in the Pelagie Islands, in Italian Mediter-
ranean waters.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
On the morning of 23 May 2020, three sport 
fishermen, Salvatore Sicurello and two friends, were 
aboard an 8 m long boat in the waters of Lampedusa 
Island, the Pelagie archipelago, Italy, in the Central 
Mediterranean Sea (Fig. 1). The anglers were fishing 
with bolentino, using strips of European flying squid, 
Todarodes sagittatus (Lamarck, 1798), as bait, without 
chum, and they caught some red porgies, Pagrus 
pagrus (Linnaeus, 1758). At 10:04 a.m., with a 5-6 
kn wind and a calm sea, the dorsal fin of a shark was 
observed in 60-70 m deep blue waters, 10 nm south 
of the Lampedusa harbour. The shark was observed by 
the anglers for approximately 3 minutes. They were 
the only boat in the area at that moment. The shark 
showed no particular interest in the boat and, after 
swimming nearby, left the area. After the encounter, 
the three sport fishermen resumed fishing but moved 
to another site.
A short, 1:30 minute low-resolution video, filmed 
by Mr. Sicurello from the boat, was uploaded on a 
Facebook group, and brought public attention to this 
case. The video was later published by several Italian 
media (Stampa TV, 2020).
A higher resolution version of the video was 
provided by Mr. Sicurello to the authors, and was 
fundamental for identification purposes. A data col-
lection form was sent by the authors to Mr. Sicurello, 
in order to collect detailed information on the ob-
servation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Some evident morphological features of the 
animal, including brownish grey coloration, mark-
edly spindle-shaped body, massive trunk, wide head, 
pointed conical snout, large and pointed dorsal fin 
with irregular posterior margin, long and wide pec-
toral fins, wide caudal keels, long gill slits, lunate 
caudal fin, presence of black spot at the pectoral fin 
insertion, white marks on pectoral fin, free rear tip, 
pelvic fins and caudal fin lower lobe (Fig. 2), allowed 
the authors to make an immediate identification of the 
shark as a great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias 
(Linnaeus, 1758).
Other typical features of the species, such as the 
large triangular serrated teeth and the black apex 
of the pectoral fin’s ventral surface, could not be 
observed due to the fact that the video was filmed 
from the surface, and the shark never exposed the 
ventral surfaces to the observer. However, based on 
the observable features listed above we identified the 
species as C. carcharias.
The higher resolution version allowed a close 
observation of the pelvic area, including a glimpse 
of the pelvic fin’s free rear tip, which revealed the 
absence of claspers. We could therefore conclude 
that the observed shark was a female.
Fig. 1: Map showing the exact location where the fema-
le great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 
1758), estimated at 500 cm TL, was observed on 23 
May 2020 (map created with ArcGis).
Sl. 1: Zemljevid obravnavanega območja (v ArcGis) z 
označbo lokalitete, kjer je bila 23. maja 2020 opažena 
približno 500 cm dolga samica belega morskega volka 
(Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758)).
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Fig. 2: The female great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias (Linnaeus, 1758), 
estimated at 500 cm TL, observed near Lampedusa, the Pelagie Islands, Italy, on 
23 May 2020 (stills from a video by Salvatore Sicurello).
Sl. 2: Približno 500 cm dolga samica belega morskega volka (Carcharodon car-
charias (Linnaeus, 1758)), opažena 23. maja 2020 blizu Lampeduse (Isole Pelagie, 
Italija) (slika dobljena iz videoposnetka, ki ga je posnel Salvatore Sicurello).
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The size of the shark was estimated by Mr. Sicurello 
at 500 cm total length (TL), based on the size of the 
8-metre boat.
The encounter took place in the Strait of Sicily, 
between Italy and Tunisia, a well-known parturition 
ground and nursery area for newborn and juvenile 
white sharks (Cigala-Fulgosi, 1990; De Maddalena & 
Heim, 2012). Since female white sharks attain sexual 
maturity between 400 and 500 cm TL, and both mating 
and parturition tend to occur in spring and summer 
(Compagno, 2001; Francis, 1996), we can assume that 
the female shark observed near Lampedusa was sexu-
ally mature, and speculate that perhaps its presence in 
the area may be related to mating or parturition. No 
mating scar is observable in the video, but this may be 
due to the relatively low resolution of the images, and 
should not eliminate the possibility of sexual maturity 
and potential sexual activity.
Great white sharks have long sexual maturation 
times, low fecundity, long gestation periods, and 
produce small numbers of young, which makes them 
highly vulnerable to over-exploitation (De Maddalena 
& Heim, 2012). Limited evidence indicates that great 
white sharks have few nursery areas, therefore even 
minimal fishing pressure in one of these pupping areas 
where pregnant females and newborns are concentrat-
ed, like the Strait of Sicily, can have devastating results. 
Great white sharks were, without a doubt, at one time 
much more abundant in the Mediterranean than they 
are presently, which could be the result of overfishing 
either the shark or its preys. A decrease of 45.88% in 
the number of great white shark records in the Mediter-
ranean has been reported from the 1989-1998 decade 
to the 1999-2008 decade (De Maddalena & Heim, 
2012). The observation of a potentially mature female 
in an important parturition ground presented herein 
is therefore a positive sign of the species’ continuous 
vitality in the area. We also underline the importance 
of citizen science, public engagement, and social net-
works for the detection and observation of species of 
interest, including ecological observation of scientific 
relevance (Tiralongo et al., 2019a, 2019b).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Very special thanks to Salvatore Sicurello, who was 
on board at the time of the observation reported in this 
article. The authors wish to thank Eric Glenn Haenni 
for taking the time to edit the manuscript. Alessandro 
De Maddalena thanks Alessandra, Antonio and Phoebe 
for their support and love. 
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ZAPIS O POJAVLJANJU BELEGA MORSKEGA VOLKA CARCHARODON CARCHARIAS 
PRI LAMPEDUSI, ITALIJA
Francesco TIRALONGO
Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
Ente Fauna Marina Mediterranea, Avola, Italy
e-mail: francesco.tiralongo@unict.it
Clara MONACO
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Di3A), University of Catania, Italy
MareCamp Association, Aci Castello (CT), Italy
e-mail: clamonaco@unict.it
Alessandro DE MADDALENA
Shark Museum, 26 Forest Hill Road, Simon’s Town, 7995 Cape Town, South Africa
e-mail: alessandrodemaddalena@gmail.com
POVZETEK
Triindvajsetega marca 2020 so avtorji opazovali približno pet metrov dolgo samico belega morskega volka 
(Carcharodon carcharias) blizu Lampeduse (Isole Pelagie, Italija). Ta zapis je še posebej pomemben, saj je 
Sicilski preliv razmnoževalno območje te vrste, ki je opredeljena kot kritično ogrožena v Sredozemskem morju 
po merilih Mednarodne zveze za ohranjanje narave (IUCN).
Ključne besede: beli morski volk, Carcharodon carcharias, Lampedusa, Italija, Sredozemsko morje
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