Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, had banned swimming after two shark attacks, including one fatal, in early 2023. But an anti-squala net was installed and the beaches reopened this Wednesday, to the delight of bathers. Why was this net installed? What is it about ? 20 minutes takes stock for you.
Why was a net installed?
On January 29, a teacher was seriously injured, followed three weeks later by a fatal bite inflicted on an Australian tourist. These attacks, in the middle of the Sunday crowds, led to a total ban on swimming. Faced with the danger, the authorities decided to cast a wide net. Although swimming is now authorized everywhere, few venture into the water outside the protected area of the Baie des Citrons, where surveillance teams have been reinforced.
What is this installation?
It is a gigantic metal mesh net 750 meters long. It offers a secure 10-hectare body of water in the heart of the city. Another, smaller net will be placed in the coming days on the beach at Château-Royal, where the two attacks occurred which traumatized residents at the start of the year.
What are the criticisms?
The net also has its detractors. Starting with the “Fantastic Grandmothers”, tireless retirees and local celebrities who have been carrying out daily counts of marine species for years for scientific studies. Some came to get into the water, with a pang in their hearts.
Because no attack has ever been recorded in the Baie des Citrons but the net now completely closes the bay, whose reefs, with exceptional preservation in an urban environment, are full of corals, fish, but also turtles, rays and harmless Leopard sharks. Too big to slip through the cracks, these animals had to be evacuated.
The investigating commissioner in charge of the public inquiry had issued an unfavorable opinion on the project, due to uncertainties about the environmental impact. The city of Nouméa, for its part, believes that all measures – eviction of animals, preservation of one of the two reefs, exclusion from the protected zone – have been taken.