Great white sharks may be breeding again in the Mediterranean, scientists believe, in an announcement likely to spook British tourists who flock there every summer. The revelation comes after a juvenile shark, measuring around 210cm and weighing 80–90kg, was accidentally caught off Spain’s eastern coast on April 20, 2023. The rare find prompted researchers to examine historical records from 1862 to 2023, with their results recently published in the open-access journal Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria. Once made infamous by Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, the species was thought to have vanished from the Mediterranean, apart from occasional visitors from other seas. Despite their fearsome reputation, Great Whites are often unfairly maligned, suffering from a “villain” narrative that does not match reality. While headlines often lean into sensationalism, the statistical likelihood of a shark encounter is extraordinarily low. In fact, you are significantly more likely to be struck by lightning or injured by a household appliance than to be bitten by a shark. Worldwide, unprovoked attacks have hit historic lows—with only 47 recorded globally in 2024—and in the …