The Administrative Court of New Caledonia has suspended shark fishing campaigns in the marine protected areas of the French archipelago in the South Pacific, which had been authorized after several attacks, including a fatal one, according to the decision of the fast-track judge, consulted by AFP on Friday.
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Administrative jurisdiction has been urgently taken over by the Ensemble par la planete (EPLP) association, which considers that this sampling policy is “ecologically irresponsible in response to attacks on people”.
The Southern Province, in charge of environmental affairs, had given Nouméa town hall permission to organize shark-killing campaigns in three reserves near the coast of the municipality, where an Australian tourist was killed by a shark three weeks later in February after the attack that killed a swimmer in the same place was seriously injured.
In his order issued on Thursday, the judge considered that “the lack of precise scientific studies both on the importance of the populations of tiger sharks and bull sharks and on the impact of their capture on the environment is likely to raise serious doubts about the legality.” of the decree issued in the Southern Province.
Although the case must now be judged on its merits, “it is an important victory for us because we know that today 60% of shark slaughter occurs in these reserves,” estimates Martine Cornaille, president of the EPLP, who also intends to challenge the massacres outside the reserves in court.
The eradication of shark species considered dangerous to humans has been denounced by numerous environmental groups, including the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which says the eradication is “likely to trigger a cascade of other ecological problems, while at the same time gives the public the impression of falsehood”. Security.
When contacted by AFP, the city hall of Nouméa and the southern province did not respond to requests for reaction.