Shark culls after fatal attack split New Caledonia

Some beaches in New Caledonia have been closed and authorities began shark culling off Nouméa after a man riding a wing foil in a recreational area was attacked and killed. The operation started on 23 February, with preliminary investigations indicating the victim was attacked by a tiger shark that measured at least three metres.

Swimming and water-based activities outside protected areas have been banned along a 300-metre coastal strip, with the restrictions due to remain in place until the end of the culling campaign on Wednesday. The cull targets tiger and bull sharks along Nouméa’s coastline, which is heavily used for swimming, boating and water sports.

Authorities say the operation is necessary to “protect human lives” in the face of increasing threats from sharks. At a council meeting on 25 February the mayor of Nouméa, Sonia Lagarde, rejected the term “cull” in favour of “regulation”: “When you have sharks of exceptional size approaching the coast, the question of regulation has to be asked,” she said.

New Caledonia, Nouméa

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