At a Tripoli fish market, trays of frozen seafood sit beside piles of sharks, some with swollen bellies full of eggs. Dozens of longnose spurdogs — called “kalb al-bahr” locally — were openly displayed even though they had been caught during breeding season. A fisherman who spoke anonymously said there is no systematic monitoring at sea or at points of sale in Libya. With the country mired in economic crisis and spurdogs fetching low prices, fishers often ignore seasonal limits. That is dangerous for the species: female longnose spurdogs give birth to just one to six pups per pregnancy, so sustained harvesting can quickly push populations toward collapse.
The spurdog is not an isolated example. A 2021 study showed oceanic shark and ray populations have fallen about 71% since 1970, and IUCN assessments list roughly 38% of shark and ray species as threatened with extinction. Libyan waters are among the Mediterranean’s most important shark habitats, yet protections and enforcement lag behind the risks.
Marine biologist Sara Al‑Mabrouk began using social media after seeing images of endangered species pulled from local waters. She asked fishers to send photos and catch details, launched awareness campaigns on radio and online, and met fishermen to explain why saving sharks matters. Her outreach produced small victories: one fisherman messaged to say he had returned a small pregnant shark to the sea. Still, Al‑Mabrouk worries about the longnose spurdog’s official status: it is classed as “data deficient” by the IUCN because of limited information, and species initially labeled this way are often recategorized as threatened once more data arrive.
Sharks help control mid-level predators and maintain balanced food webs; their decline can ripple through the ecosystem and ultimately hurt commercially important species such as sardines and mullet that coastal communities depend on.
The Marine Biology Society, a Libyan NGO, has recorded about 30 shark species in national waters and reports several are routinely caught and sold. Libya’s fisheries law dates from 1989 and theoretically allows authorities to regulate fishing seasons and gear, but enforcement is weak and coverage at sea is nearly impossible without fleet cooperation. The law also does not include a list of prohibited species, and regional coordination for monitoring, data sharing and enforcing conservation in shared waters is limited.
Modern fishing methods often capture multiple species indiscriminately, and bycatch is frequently landed and sold. Still, awareness is slowly growing among fishers. Abdullah Al‑Fitouri, a small-scale fisherman from Tobruk who co-founded the Life Organization for Marine Conservation in 2021, says many fishermen are learning about marine biodiversity and want to protect the sea because their livelihoods depend on healthy fisheries.
Decades of political instability and economic hardship make conservation a low priority in Libya, but experts argue that acting now to protect sharks and marine ecosystems could help secure sustainable fisheries for the future.
This story was produced with support from Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. Edited by: Tamsin Walker.