Some beaches in parts of New Caledonia are closed to swimming and authorities have begun culling sharks in the capital, Nouméa, after a fatal attack in the popular tourist spot, sparking a legal challenge to stop the operation and reigniting debate over public safety and marine conservation.
The culling operation began on February 23, after a New Caledonian man riding a foil in a recreational area was attacked and killed. Preliminary investigations indicate that the victim was attacked by a tiger shark measuring at least three meters.
The cull targets tiger and bull sharks off the coast of Nouméa, which is widely used by residents and tourists for swimming, boating and water sports.
Authorities said the operation was necessary to “protect human lives” in the face of growing threats from sharks. Swimming and water activities have been banned outside protected areas along a 300-metre coastal strip, and restrictions will remain in place until the end of the culling campaign on Wednesday.
Shark risk management has become a sensitive issue across the French Pacific territory, where local elections are due to take place this month.
Noumea Mayor Sonia Lagarde defended this policy, rejecting the term “culling” in favor of “regulation” at a council meeting on February 25.
“When there are sharks of exceptional size approaching the coast, the question of regulation has to be raised,” Lagarde said. “The danger is there.”
On Monday, a court in Noumea was due to consider a request by the marine conservation organization Ensemble Pour La Planète (EPLP) to stop the culling of sharks.
“No new independent scientific study demonstrates that culling sharks reduces the risk of attacks,” the organization said, adding that the targeted species are legally protected in the waters off Nouméa.
The EPLP won a similar court challenge to a shark cull in 2023. Local authorities initiated shark culls after a series of attacks, including the fatal attack of an Australian tourist in February 2023. The operation captured 127 sharks, mostly tiger sharks, but the court later ordered authorities to stop the cull, calling it “disproportionate.”
Since the new cull began, seven tiger sharks and one bull shark have been captured, officials said. Sharks measuring less than 2.1 meters in length are released.
Lagarde said the operation was necessary because of what she described as a sharp increase in shark sightings near the coast, adding that large sharks are now being seen in areas used daily for swimming and surfing.
Lagarde also argued that alternative measures such as permanent drone surveillance or additional exclusion nets were too costly and technically complex.
“New Caledonia is not Australia. These systems are extremely expensive and we simply cannot afford them,” he said.
The main pro-independence coalition condemned the cull operation and called for non-lethal prevention measures, including increased surveillance and public information.
Aile Tikoure, from the civil society group Nyiimié kââ, which brought together mostly young people from the southern island of Grande Terre, protested against the sacrifice to highlight the relationship of the indigenous Kanak people with the marine environment. On Friday, the collective organized a demonstration outside Noumea city hall, calling on authorities to stop the cull, and said further action could be taken in the coming days.
“Our origins link us to the sharks,” Tikoure said. “They are considered ancestral species.”
