Noumea court suspends shark hunt following fatal attacks

A court has ordered a halt to the culling of bull and tiger sharks in New Caledonia as debate on the matter rages on in the Pacific.

Wildlife conservation advocates have protested the cull programme, put in place by authorities after a tourist was mauled by a tiger shark in February in the French territory.

Tourism New Caledonia said between 1958 and 2020, there were 67 attacks including 13 fatal ones.

Dozens of sharks have been destroyed so far, the World Wildlife Fund said with three 4m-long tiger sharks killed by local authorities soon after the tourist attack.

Located about 2400km north of New Zealand, New Caledonia has a population of 280,500 – 44% are the indigenous Kanak people.

More than 12,000 New Zealanders visited the Pacific nation in 2021, according to StatsNZ.

The mayor of Noumea, Sonia Lagarde, approved US$700,000 (NZ$1.2 million) for the city’s shark culling campaign on Match 17.

An additional US$900,000 (NZ$1.5m) was made available to install nets along the capital’s popular Anse Vata swimming beach.

She also ordered the closure of the beaches until the end of the year. But the move was criticised by scientists and conservationists including The Caledonia Together Party, which voted against the programme.

The party said there were more sharks where the culls had taken place.

Ecologist group Together For The Planet (EPLP) took legal action to stop the shark culls, calling it “environmentally irresponsible”.

On September 14, a Noumea court suspended the campaign, citing the “absence of precise scientific studies both on the size of tiger and bull shark populations as well as the environmental impact of removing them”.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) welcomed the decision, saying the culls were “likely to cause a cascade of further ecological problems while giving the public a false sense of security”.

Kiwis travelling to Noumea have been urged to exercise caution.

“Swimmers should be alert to any warning signs and follow the advice of local authorities when beaches have been closed due to a shark sighting or shark-related incidents,” Manatū Aorere, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said in a statement.

“A series of shark attacks in early 2023, including one fatal, resulted in the closing of all beaches in Noumea.

“Travel insurance is mandatory for entry to New Caledonia and needs to cover all medical and hospitalisation expenses as well as repatriation costs, including medical evacuation.

“You may need to show proof of insurance at the airport so take a printed copy,” Mfat said.

There have been more than 60 unprovoked shark attacks on swimmers and surfers in Aotearoa from 1852 to December 2022, with 10 of those attacks fatal, Te Papa Atawhai, the Department of Conservation said.

About 66 types of sharks are found in New Zealand waters, ranging in size from the tiny pygmy shark which grows to 27cm long to the 12m whale shark.

DOC said it was horrified by the recent spate of animal decapitations filmed, with one depicting a shark carcass being dragged around a beach in Auckland.

A shark, two fur seals, a penguin and other birds have been found headless and abandoned on the country’s beaches in the past 18 months.

One group had dragged the shark behind a four-wheel-drive with a person riding the animal and later another person was seen wearing the shark’s head.

Conservation Minister Willow-Jean Prime announced on Wednesday that the 70-year-old Wildlife Act would be replaced with “modern, fit-for-purpose legislation to protect native species better and improve biodiversity”.

She said more than 4000 native species were under threat, some on the brink of extinction.

“The new legislation aims to address the myriad threats these species face, including the impacts of climate change, invasive species, and habitat loss.”

While Pacific governments have cited public safety, shark culling in Australia and Hawai’i has come under intense scrutiny, with thousands protesting against the move.

In Aotearoa, shark nets were installed in Dunedin for about 40 years, but were removed in 2011 because the Government found that the nets were detrimental to the environment with 700 non-target species reportedly killed in the campaign.

In Fiji, sharks have long been part of the Fijian culture. Stories of sharks and folklore are passed down from generation to generation.

The shark is revered by many Fijians, and legend has it that ‘Dakuwaqa’, the ancient shark god, provides protection for the people when at sea.