Shark in Reunion: new decree regulating bathing

The prefect of Reunion, Jean-Luc Marx, on Friday issued a new decree regulating until February 2014 swimming and nautical activities “the most exposed to shark risk” on the island, recalling that the “zero risk does not exist”. does not exist ”including in supervised areas.

“This decree, like the previous one, aims to prohibit the activities most exposed to the shark risk, in the 300-meter strip of the coast (…) except in the lagoon and, outside the lagoon, in the developed areas and supervised areas ”, underlines the prefect in a press release.

It will come into force on October 2 and will be applicable until February 15, 2014. The old decree, taken on July 26, prohibited swimming, bodyboarding and surfing until October 1 on more than half of the Reunion coast. . It followed a decision by the administrative court ordering the prefect to take “larger-scale” measures to protect users of the sea from sharks. Since 2011, twelve shark attacks including five fatal have been recorded in Reunion, the last dating back to July 15, killing a 15-year-old girl who was swimming a few meters from the shore in Saint-Paul (west coast). The new text specifies which activities are prohibited, in this case “swimming including when it is carried out using equipment such as fins, mask and snorkel”, as well as “water activities using the driving force of the waves ”.