Shark attacks off Reunion Island

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Since 2011, a number of shark attacks have occurred mainly on the west coast of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean . So far, fourteen of them have been fatal (as of December 2019) . Statistically, the chances of falling victim to a shark attack in the coastal waters of La Réunion are currently 1000 times higher than in the coasts of Australia and North America, where the most shark accidents have occurred to date. This means that the beaches of La Réunion, along with Second Beach in Port St Johns , South Africa, the beaches near Recife in Brazil (see also shark attacks off Recife ), Makena Beach on Maui / Hawaii and Surf Beach / California are among the coastal regions where there is a has accumulated a statistically significant number of shark attacks. Bull and tiger sharks are blamed for the accidents.

Relief of the Reunion Island
Shark Attack Timeline
Local accumulation of shark attacks on the map of Reunion Island
Lagoon at Reunion Island
Saint-Gilles port
Surfers on the beach at Saint Leu
Warning sign on the beach
Bull shark
Tiger shark

Attacks

The attacks often occurred, as in the case of Mathieu Schiller, a few meters from the shore. Schiller was attacked several times by a shark in the afternoon. The second time the attack was fatal and Schiller bled to death. From this, however, no pattern for the typical hunting behavior of bull sharks could be derived, which often take their prey by surprise and severely wounded and only kill the victim and drag it into the depths with the second attack. Another variant assumes that the surfer who was fatally injured by the shark attack was caught in the surf by a wave and driven out into the open sea. Sarah Roperth was also attacked and killed in the immediate vicinity of the beach, only about five meters from the shore.

Behavior of the sharks

Bull and tiger sharks are food opportunists. The predatory fish are not restricted to a specific, precisely defined range of prey and are therefore often considered to be “ omnivores ”. Both types of fish also often have the nickname “ garbage cans of the sea ”. Divers who studied the behavior of bull sharks in open water described the animals as extremely reserved and shy. The animals barely let the divers get within ten meters. " They are a bit like pathologically shy men, if they dare to speak to a woman, then they become brisk, " is how the freediver Frédéric Buyle described their behavior. Divers have observed that bull sharks often hunt close to the bottom. Individually or in small groups, they swim slowly, often only a few centimeters above the sea floor, and use their receptors to detect the electromagnetic fields of their prey. Bull sharks are not eye hunters and are therefore well adapted to a life in sediment-rich water zones.

Press releases

The shark attacks in La Réunion generated a lot of media coverage, initially only in the local press on the island, later also in the major French newspapers. The coverage ranges from factual reports with headlines such as “ New shark attack on La Réunion ”, “ The mystery of increasing shark attacks ” to hysterical scare tactics in “ Bloodthirsty killer shark in the peaceful island paradise ”. The often sensational press reports have caused great damage to the island's local tourism industry. The Telegraph UK published a graph on the statistical risk of falling victim to a shark attack. While the chance in the USA and Brazil is 0.002 per million people, in South Africa 0.15 and in Australia 0.81, the probability before La Réunion is 8.28. The New York Times describes the economic impact of the shark crisis on the island.

Root cause analysis

The causes of the frequent attacks have not yet been conclusively researched. A maritime nature reserve and the associated restriction of fishing, as well as the decrease in motorboat traffic off the island might also have led to the statistical increase in shark attacks. The dramatic overfishing of coastal waters and increasing environmental pollution are also to blame for the lack of food for large predatory fish. Another explanation may be the fish farm in St-Gilles Bay, where edible fish are kept in large cages. The smell and sound of these fish would attract large numbers of sharks. It is also conceivable that sharks will follow the fishing boats into the harbor basin, where they feed on fish waste. The cause of all attempts at explanation is the disturbed ecological balance in the coastal waters of La Réunion. Since October 2011, the French research institute IRD has started a comprehensive research project (CHARC program) on the subject of shark attacks on La Réunion. Sharks are captured, marked with electronic transmitters and their movements in the coastal waters are studied. On the basis of the characteristic bite wounds, most of the attacks are attributed to the bull sharks, which are three meters in length off La Réunion and also larger than elsewhere on earth. Bull sharks find an ideal biotope off the west coast of the island. Heavy rains often lead to high water turbidity and the lagoons (lagoon of Saint-Paul) and rivers that drain into the Indian Ocean reduce the salt water content of the coastal zone. Both factors that greatly favor the bull shark population. It has been found that most of the attacks on humans occurred during the winter months. This time coincides with the breeding period of the bull sharks, in which males appear more frequently on the beach of St. Gilles and show a greatly increased aggressiveness in competition for reproductive females. The rapid population growth on the west coast of La Réunion, the increased discharge of sewage and fish waste has led to a severe degradation of the maritime ecosystem. At the same time, the forage fish population has decreased significantly due to radical overfishing. The increased incidence of shark attacks off Reunion Island is probably based on multifactorial causes. The Smithsonian Institute has investigated why the Indian Ocean has become a "hotspot" for shark attacks. The “shark crisis” on Reunion Island has already led to the demand for the mass killing of sharks in the endangered waters. While an unusually high number of shark attacks took place on La Réunion from 2011 onwards, the neighboring island of Mauritius , which according to popular opinion is protected by an offshore coral reef, was not affected. Due to excessive overfishing, bull sharks are forced to swim closer to the coast in search of food.

activities

The responsible authorities have already put up warning signs near the beach and warn urgently against entering the water. Furthermore, 80 sharks are to be "removed" from the coastal waters and killed in order to reduce the risk for tourists of falling victim to a shark attack. The individual measures are discussed controversially by the islanders. The targeted killing of sharks could generate negative headlines and further damage the tourism industry. The beaches of Boucan Canot and Les Roches Noires were completely closed for four months. Swimming, surfing and bodyboarding is prohibited 300 meters from the coast. On other beaches, small sectors have been cordoned off with nets, in which people can swim and swim under supervision from 10:00 to 17:00.

List of victims of shark attacks off Reunion Island

Activity and injuries Name of the victim Date and time of attack Beach section / region
Snorkeler, fatal accident not known † December 15, 2019 Saint-Leu
Swimmer, fatal accident Richard Martyn Turner † November 2, 2019, afternoon Hermitage lagoon
Surfer, fatal accident Kim Mahbouli † May 9, 2019, 4:30 p.m. Saint-Leu
Fischer, fatal bite of a leg Floris Huet † January 30, 2019, 9:15 am Estuary of the Rivière de l'Est at Sainte Rose
Bodyboarder , fatal accident Adrien Dubosc † April 29, 2017, 11:45 am Saint-Leu
Bodyboarder, fatal accident Alexandre Naussac † February 21, 2017, 9 a.m. Estuary of Rivière du Mât, Saint-André
Surfer, loss of right arm and a foot Laurent Chardard August 27, 2016, 5:00 p.m. Saint Gilles, Boucan Canot
Surfer, fatal accident Elio Canestri † April 12, 2015, in the morning Les Aigrettes
Swimmer, fatal accident Talon Bishop † February 14, 2015, 6:30 p.m. d'Étang-Salé
Surfer, severe bite wounds on the right side Vincent Rintz July 22, 2014, 3:00 p.m. Saint-Leu
Bodyboarder, seriously injured right leg G. Tanguy October 26, 2013, 4:30 p.m. d'Étang-Salé
Swimmer, fatal accident Sarah Roperth † July 15, 2013, 2:26 pm St. Paul, Le cimetière marin
Surfer, fatal accident Stéphane Berhamel † May 8, 2013, 8:20 am St Gilles, Brisant Beach
Surfer, right hand and foot injury Fabien Bujon 6 August 2012, 5:17 pm Saint-Leu
Surfer, fatal accident Alexandre Rassica † July 23, 2012, 4:30 p.m. Trois basins
Bodyboarder, no injury, bite into the board Gerard Itema March 5, 2012, 2:30 p.m. Saint-Benoit, Port de la Marine
Diver, spearfisher, left foot bite Jean-Paul Delaunay November 11, 2011, dawn Bois-Blanc, Sainte-Rose
Woman's body found with bite marks from sharks unknown † October 13, 2011 Reunion
Canoeist, attack without injury Jean-Pierre Castellani October 5, 2011, 10:00 Cap La Houssaye in Saint-Paul
Surfer, fatal accident Mathieu Schiller † September 19, 2011, 3:30 p.m. Saint Gilles, Boucan Canot
Kayaker, attack without injury unknown July 15, 2011 Saint Gilles
Surfer, attack on the surfboard, only minor injuries Arnaud Dussel July 6, 2011, 3:00 p.m. Saint Gilles, Roches Noires
Bodyboarder, fatal accident Eddy Auber † June 15, 2011, 5:30 p.m. St Gilles les Bains, Boucan Canot
Surfer, serious injury to the left leg Eric Dargent February 19, 2011, 6:30 p.m. Saint-Gilles, Trois-Roches

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ As of March 2015
  2. ↑ ARD contribution Haialarm in the tourist paradise of January 12, 2014 , accessed on November 18, 2014
  3. ↑ World's Deadliest Beaches for Shark Attacks, Hannah Osborne, International Business Times, March 25, 2014
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Haie vor La Réunion, Haie vor La Réunion, days of tension FAZ, January 14, 2012
  5. ↑ Hai tears 15-year-olds off Reunion Island. The girl was swimming just five meters from the beach when she was attacked and killed by a shark. Shark attacks are frequent on Reunion Island, but attacks this close to the beach are very unusual. Süddeutsche.de, July 15, 2013
  6. ↑ Reunion's 'shark crisis': when will it be safe to go back into the water? Telegraph, Aug. 8, 2015
  7. ^ Réunion, Once a Surfer's Paradise, Finds Only Sharks in Its Waters, The New York Times, August 11, 2015
  8. ↑ a b c La Réunion: Shark alarm in the tourist paradise, Das Erste, broadcast on January 12, 2014
  9. ↑ L'Institut de recherche pour le développement
  10. ↑ Connaissances de l'écologie et de l'HAbitat de deux espèces de Requins Côtiers sur la côte Ouest de la Réunion, IRD January 2012 - April 2015
  11. ↑ The Isle of Sharks, Prime Surfing
  12. ↑ Hai-Alarm im Surferparadies, Arte-Mediathek, August 21, 2016 ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.arte.tv
  13. ↑ Why Is This Indian Ocean Island a Hot Spot for Shark Attacks? smithsonianmag.com ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.smithsonianmag.com
  14. ^ Shark alarm on Réunion, Where vacationers have to fear sharks, Mitteldeutsche Zeitung, July 29, 2013
  15. ↑ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Researchers find body parts in tiger shark's stomach | DW | December 27, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2019 (UK English).
  16. ↑ [1]
  17. ↑ travel reporter, Hannover, Niedersachsen Germany: Hand with wedding ring in a shark found. Retrieved November 18, 2019 .
  18. ↑ [2]
  19. ↑ IMazpress, January 30, 2019
  20. ↑ 21st attaque de squale depuis 2011 (actualisé), Adrien Dubosc, neuvième victime tuée par un requin à La Réunion. IMazpress, April 30, 2017
  21. ↑ C'est la première attaque mortelle dans l'est depuis 1989 - Rivière du Mât - Le jeune de 26 ans tué par un squale était un bodyboardeur aguerri. Retrieved March 1, 2017 (French).
  22. ↑ Surfer loses arm and foot in Reunion Island shark attack. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 13, 2016 ; accessed on September 8, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.surfinglife.com.au
  23. ↑ Elio tué par un requin: les témoins racontent, LINFO.RE April 12, 2015