For ten years, shark attacks became increasingly frequent in La Réunion, but locals and tourists disregard the autorities’ recommendations and  continue to go swimming.

Several causes could explain this increase, like, according to the locals, the creation of marine reserves in the 1990’s and the ban on marketing shark meat. For the scientists, this could come from the overfishing which force the sharks to come near the coasts, and the growing population in La Réunion which would have an impact on the coastline. The island’s geology would also facilitate the appearance of murkier waters and  deep-water areas which draw tiger sharks and bull sharks until beaches.

Despite the significant amounts of money involved by the government in the protection against sharks, shark attacks continue and have a significant impact on tourism. Programmes for the slaughter of  sharks are implemented, but, according to the biologists, they cannot have long-term effects.