Réunion extends water ban after shark attacks

REUNION Island has
extended a ban on
swimming and certain water
sports to September after
a spate of shark attacks –
there have been 15 attacks
since 2011 – ve of which
were fatal and occurred in
the past two years.
Réunion Tourism conrmed
a report on eTurboNews,
saying the ban was issued
for St Paul’s but did not
affect the lagoons along
the west coast. Chantal
Ambroise, sous prefect of
St Paul, says the island still
has 22km of safe beaches
for people to utilise.
Tourism to Réunion Island
has been negatively affected
by the reports. Chantal said
that tourism revenue was
down by 10% for the rst
six months of 2013. She
said although it was difcult
to make the decision to
issue the ban because
of the negative image it
portrayed to tourists, it was
nonetheless necessary. “It
was a hard decision that we
had to take in closing the
seas outside the protected
lagoons to surfers and
bathers but it is a temporary
measure aimed at helping
to minimise the risk to
our local and international
tourists.”