Photo: New Caledonia Tourism
A shark attack in New Caledonia has led to aggressive shark mitigation measures from the local government. Following a wing foiler’s death, the government of the South Pacific French territory has vowed to begin culling sharks.
The victim’s body was found on Sunday at Anse Vata, a popular beach in New Caledonia’s capital of Nouméa, as RNZ reports. The 55-year-old medical emergency specialist had suffered deep wounds to their right arm and leg. Nouméa public prosecutor Yves Dupas told local media that the death was most likely caused by a shark while the victim was riding a wing foil, but that they were not absolutely certain how the attack happened.
“The South Province and the City of Nouméa express their profound sadness and deep sorrow following the shark attack that claimed the life of a man yesterday in Nouméa,” wrote the local government in a press release. “They extend their sincerest condolences to his family and loved ones.”
The government went on to elaborate that, while the risk of shark attack has grown worldwide (with a specific callout to Australia, which recently experienced a series of attacks in short succession), this is the first attack on a Noumea beach since 2023.
The agency credited this to the government’s “Shark Reduction Plan,” which involved a number of shark mitigation measures such as raising public awareness, monitoring waterways, temporary swimming bans. However, the plan also controversially included targeted culling of tiger and bull sharks near attack sites, which went on for several years, until an environmental association sued to end the campaign. Though there was no uptick in shark encounters after the cull ended, the government still credited the following shark-free years to killing the animals, and decried the court taking away its ability to continue to do so.
However, the government has taken the recent attack as justification to resume the cull. “Given the seriousness of yesterday’s tragedy, the South Province and the City of Nouméa have decided, in coordination, to take responsibility and relaunch a targeted campaign to cull tiger and bull sharks this week, as an immediate response and a precautionary measure,” continued the release. “This campaign will be conducted with the support of Civil Security and Risk Management, starting February 24, 2026.“
