Another shark attack in Reunion

10/27/2013

There was another serious shark attack on a bodyboarder in Reunion on Saturday afternoon. He was bitten whilst surfing a reef at Etang Sale, which is just south of St Leu, the islands premier wave.

Reports indicate that his leg was severed off at the thigh during the attack.

This brings the total of shark attacks in Reunion this year to three. The last attack was on July 15, when a young girl was killed at Saint-Paul (just north of St Leu) while she was bathing a few meters offshore. In May, a French honeymooner was killed by a shark while surfing not far from the island's popular beach of Brisants de Saint-Gilles (also just north of St Leu).

This brings the total number of attacks since 2010 to 14. Yip, that's 14 incidents in the space of 3 years. Of these 6 were fatal.

The majority of attacks have occurred on the NW and west side of the island - where the islands only fish farm is located. Many of the locals point the finger at the fish farm in St Paul Bay, which was built in 2007 (consisting of 7 cages), as one of the reasons for the sudden spike in attacks.

Bull shark - the likely suspect

Reunion has experienced shark attacks before, but generally only 1 or 2 a year, with many years of no attacks. However since 2010 there has been 14 attacks, of which 6 have been fatal.

It's not as simple as going 1+1 = 2, and blaming the fish farm for the increase in attacks, but yoh, it's an unnerving coincidence if nothing else.

Other possible contributing factors include the recent creation of the Marine Reserve (also 2007), a twelve-mile-long protected zone established on the west coast to try to save the threatened coral of the barrier reef. Fishing is either banned or strictly regulated in this area - so locals believe it's become a "pantry" for sharks, as there are plentiful fish for them to eat.

Another factor could be the 1999 ban on the commercialisation of sharks on the island as they were thought to be contaminated with ciguatuerra, a poisonous toxin that causes serious food poisoning. This meant sharks could no longer be sold on Reunion as food. That meant the local shark fishing industry disappeared almost overnight - you couldn't catch it to sell, as you weren't allowed to sell it, and no-one wanted to eat it anyway.

So are the attacks all because of this cascade of coincidences?

A whole lot more sharks because of the ban on shark fishing in the entire island, and then the draw of this increased shark population to the NW of the island due to a combination of the fish farm, marine protected area and increased wastewater run-off into the sea from the expanding urbanised zones nearby creating an ideal feeding environment?

It's impossible to point a finger at a specific cause, and most likely it's a combination of all of the above. Plus a whole bunch of other things we probably haven't even considered.

Either way - it's gotto be really, really tough right now to be a surfer in Reunion. Watching pumping waves go unridden due to the current ban on surfing in the area. Do you roll the dice, ignore the ban, and take your chances?

Is that wave worth your life?

But then again, is it a life worth living if you stop surfing?

Mel Roy

10/30/2013 04:04:37 am

These sharks are likely bulls - only bulls and tigers in Reunion's waters. A couple of things to remember is bulls swim in dirty water and hone in on their prey like magnets.

I looked up the stat on all the victims. There is no definite pattern other than they were (with one exception) in tourist zones, and the more populous the station, the more attacks.

Would the presence of a fish farm in St Paul draw sharks into St Leu? Difficult to say.

Everyone in La Reunion right now is scratching their heads, looking for answers as to what has changed that could draw more sharks to shore.

Bear in mind that the majority of people there are not from the "old families", but z'ourites and other transplants. Most of them arrived on the island for the first time after 1980.

Here's a little nugget I heard from a woman who was born on there around 1910 (obviously no longer with us to confirm anything first-hand). The waters around La Reunion were always infested with sharks. It wasn't until about the early 70s that people swam in the ocean. They just used to sit on the beach. She told us when they started exporting cattle to the island they would drop their loads just offshore and herd them in, and some cows got taken by sharks. Of course, fishing in La Reunion was more eco-friendly in those days, there were no jet skis or diving operations, a much smaller population and not nearly as much pressure on the marine environment.

Here's something else from my husband, who dived there during the 80s and 90s and early 2000s: progressively, there were fewer and fewer fish on the reef, and corals were bleaching. Never saw a shark. The Marine Reserve was necessary (though not necessarily well-thought out. It was probably the cheaper option compared to proper waste treatment and sewerage on the island, which they estimate will cost in the billions of euros).

What's happened? I think the sharks have come back, but the fish population has not necessarily. If there was an abundance of fish these guys like to eat on the reef, they'd be swarming there and not around the beaches. Now, going on other studies, it might take another year or two for the Marine Reserve to start yielding results. If the reef is healthy, the toxic algae will subside, the fish will return and sensible fishing and boating can resume. Then maybe they won't need the fish farm. By the way, there is a fish farm on the east coast near your two yellow markers...

millerslocal

10/30/2013 04:53:00 am

Thanks for such an interesting comment. You're quite right about Reunion always being sharky. I suppose long ago there were far less people using the sea s frequently for recreational purposes as is today. So put more people in the water for longer, the chances of a shark human interaction certainly increase.

The fish farm actually closed down earlier this year. Combination of public pressure and just not making enough money. It is marked on the graphic with an orange dot.

Your husband is spot on with a big problem being a ruined reef resulting in less fish, which will have disrupted the food chain/ecosystem.

Hopefully it will be able to recover, and the marine habitat can revert to being in balance again. Cos for sure seems like things are outta whack right now. Which must have at least some influence on the current increase in attacks.

Holding thumbs that for Reunions sake (and the local surfers) that things come right!

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