Is It SAFE To Go Back To REUNION ISLAND? Shark Scientist Opinion.

Join shark scientist Kristian Parton as we look into the mystery surrounding the shark attacks on reunion island. Why were there so many shark attacks on reunion island? What caused it? and is it safe to go back to reunion island now?
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Shark Bytes is a youtube channel dedicated to bringing you all the latest news, research and information about sharks around the world! Kristian Parton is a current marine biologist and shark researcher who has spent many years working with sharks in the field and laboratory. Having a passion for sharks and rays from a young age, Kristian now wants to bring the weird and wonderful world of sharks to your screens at home!
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[@Ambre2022]

As someone who lives on Réunion Island, i'm surprised how much this video is accurate. Its surprising to see my little island being covered by such a great channel

[@learning2live78]

🙄 I swear I'm not jealous 😤😂😂😂 I hope you have a channel and share your experience. ❤

[@reneesantiago6496]

If you really live there then what is the nickname for your mayor???

[@jahblessjah2341]

Sure ....

[@stuckinperth]

What’s it like living on an island off the coast of Africa filled with white people

[@factchecker472]

@@reneesantiago6496What a silly comment. 🤯No reason for the OP to lie.

[@weeklydivedose]

As a long time scuba diver in Réunion Island, I think an important factor in the shark crisis is untold. I used to dive before 2000, in 4 dive spot where there was local reef shark bands (white tip and grey reef). All this groups were in the west coast. All this bands have been annihilated by coastal fishermen. When an ecological niche is freed, it doesn’t take too long for nature to find replacement. Today I only know one dive spot with where you have a chance to meet sharks, when we go there we are expecting to see bulls, tigers or hammer, nothing else

[@juliosuave]

This is an important comment. Think of the white sharks leaving S Africa when Port and Starboard started terrorizing them. Humans and animals impact each other’s populations. There’s always an apex predator.

[@d00dl3s.d1d0pe]

That's a really good point! I love how short sighted people can be when it comes to ecosystems.

[@lalehiandeity1649]

@@d00dl3s.d1d0peBy love you mean hate, I’m sure.

[@bonbondesel]

Locals disagree with this storytelling. I'm from Reunion, I'm creole. There was a lot of people fishing and close to the sea in my generation for generations. There has never been shark slaughters of fishermen making disappear shark species. I'm not telling that abuses never existed. Abuses exist everywhere. But it was really OK since the beginning of Réunion Island population. Then when the attacks came, this story of the locals destroying the reef sharks came from people not native from the island and very willing to teach ecology lessons to the locals. I'm not telling that I have the truth and others don't. I just want you to have another point of view of the story. Lot of locals found this storytelling just when the subject became very mediatic, too much of an opportunity for people willing to spread their ideology. If a lot of people are against simple fishermen (even a part of the native population) as they see them as devil from another time, responsible of all the troubles, a lot of other native people find this story is very eco-colonial. Especially because this Idea was mainly spread by people from ONGs against fishing having a sudden interest in Reunion when things made the buzz. They never cared about sharks or fishing there because, even when fishing were more frequent. No one can say these people were there before and were inteterested on shark preservation on Reunion before. Reunion Island became with this crisis, a playground for a kind of war communications...

[@weeklydivedose]

@@bonbondesel I’m local too. I don’t belong to any ecological association and I’m not engaged in any political battle in the shark crisis. But what I’m telling in my first post is what I personally witnessed. I found the Shark spot by myself at « la souris chaude » with my father while scuba diving with our own boat ( outside any commercial activity). At this time we where easily spotted by the dive shop at la pointe des châteaux. The rumor spread really fast in the small world of the sea people. I personally know one fisherman who claims to have catch more than 30 sharks at this spot. When you knows the school of shark was 60-80 individuals, it is easy to understand that there is no need a lot of guys to destroy the school of sharks. I witnessed the end of this school of sharks first hand in 2 years. The same scenario happened in the St-Pierre case and the school of shark was really much smaller and from a different reef shark species. You may not believe what I say but I know it is the truth for the disappearance of this précises school of reef sharks. Ps: I don’t care of the origin of the fishermen, it is not relevant, nor important. To this day you will nerver see one reef shark on those dive spot

[@sharonvanhine214]

Sharks live in the ocean, its their home. It irritates me that the first thing humans do is go out and kill sharks when there is an attack. SMH

[@anandmorris]

My old man is from Mauritius. Been swimming in the Indian Ocean on many occasion, in fact i learnt to swim there. I never came across a shark in those waters. Except once, swimming at dusk on flic en flac beach. I thought i saw a shark dorsal fin in the water. I never moved so f**king fast to the shore. In fact, i was on land that quick, i am convinced i ran on the water!

[@Soulboy63]

Worst time to swim !

[@anandmorris]

@Soulboy63 yes, i bloody realise that now! 🤣

[@jaimegarland8856]

I’m sorry . But that made me laugh

[@PLAYER2035]

I surfed Mauritius many many times including that beach and have never seen a single shark. I used to surf for many hours on my own out on the reefs and only saw fish and turtles

[@Rose_Castle]

I live in Australia, I swim in a pool. The sharks and deadly jellyfish can have the ocean.

[@loismylane]

As a fisherman, I know currents play a huge factor in feeding. Some spots on the same day wont produce any fish due to lack of current exposure, while other spots will have perfect exposure to current and will produce fish. I wonder if any studies exist showing specific shark species attacks relative to what kind of major currents exist in the area or what direction of swell was present

[@melissalauret1858]

Hi, I've lived in Reunion island my whole life, I'm now 26 and I think you did a great job explaining the shark crisis. I'm not a surfer but I love swimming in the ocean, I remember when I was a kid we could swim wherever we wanted without a risk and since the shark crisis we can't go to most of the beaches. We can only swim safely in the lagoons. And I don't think I will ever be able to enjoy the beach anywhere else except for the lagoons cause I would be too scared. I just miss the good old days.

[@NeverTilt96]

you guys need to bring back eating sharks and allow commercial fishing of sharks

[@juliosuave]

Thank you for sharing ❤

[@teddy33131]

My moms family is from there. all my life i've heard "yeah go for a swin but always in the lagoon" because of sharks and currents

[@bobsmith8124]

@@NeverTilt96fuck ya , we eat every fish but them lol

[@NeverTilt96]

I read somewhere that the government made it illegal to kill sharks ? @@bobsmith8124

[@mitchellhedges711]

There’s a handful of places on the planet you don’t want to go out beyond the surf. Reunion Island is one of those places.

[@JohnWilliams-hw9yn]

A brilliant video. I’m always impressed when you do episodes that deal with the emotive issue of fatal shark attacks. You manage to bring your usual excellent scientific knowledge and analysis, but in a totally non-sensational and very kind and human way. Keep up the amazing work Shark Bytes: The best channel on KZbin.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Massive love for this comment!! 🦈💙

[@honorandintegrity4997]

This channel denies that Cameron Robbins was recorded being taken by sharks. You can't trust anything he says.

[@SuzanneU]

I visited Mauritius in 1989, and at that time locals told me not to swim anywhere but in one small area ringed by reefs. They said there were too many sharks.

[@pezzetinosharkmeister9505]

living in Mauritius and scuna diving nearly every WE, I can tell you that you'd have a lottery win if you happen to encounter a single one inside the Coral Reefs. There are some famaous places as the "shark pit" but they're somewhat 1 hrs away from the island.

[@CandyGirl44]

Oh heck. We were there in 1992, and no one warned us! We merrily swam, waterskied and canoed all around the island🙈

[@lifeglade]

Love this video! May you please do a video on Recife Brazil and all the shark attacks there, why there are so many shark attacks, and if it’s safe to go back in the water there.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Recife is on the list!

[@d00dl3s.d1d0pe]

Oh that would be a really good subject to talk about!!!!

[@saraprva4172]

Just watched it, glad our last fatal attack was in 70's but still a little afraid. Recife look cool but you must be very afraid to swim? Pozdrav iz Dalmacije

[@aidagalito]

Could it be that covid and the huge decrease in turism experimented by the island have contributed to less attacks? If there are way less swimmers there will be way less attacks

[@Keepone974]

Maybe a little bit but prior to COVID and during the shark crisis, there was already almost nobody out swimming or surfing. Of course there were people still surfing but it was a tenth of the people before the shark crisis. IMO it is the introduction of Shark Shields devices and the "vigies" that finally put a stop to it. The population of surfers is still about 15% of what it was pre-shark crisis.

[@chrisbianco]

Great point

[@redrumtruecrime]

I was just about to say Covid lock downs would mean little amount of bathers would've been in the waters around the island.

[@mccleandazza4618]

​@@redrumtruecrimecovid gets blamed for everything else so why not this too 😂

[@willywonka7812]

​@@mccleandazza4618what else is it blamed for? You sound like a brainwashed fascist tbh

[@fathomingtheglobalocean6797]

Oddly, there were a lot of attacks on swimmers and surfers, but la Réunion was never a spot where you'd see sharks while diving. For divers and spearos Reunion sharks were never an issue. The chance of seing sharks while diving was extremely small. I remember meeting a dive instructor who worked many years in La Réunion and had never seen a shark. A team of freedivers once tagged the Reunion Island bullsharks. It took them a week to get close to the sharks, they were extremely shy and skitish, even though bait and chum were used, and they were not coming shallower than 30m.. Very challenging conditions to tag them freediving. (This is why world class freedivers such as William Winram and Fred Buyle were part of the team)

[@johnc.6645]

This was incredibly interesting. You do a great show. The editing and use of clips was outstanding. You put a lot of work into these shows.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Thanks, this one was a big edit - lot of time invested here, so glad to see it appreciated!

[@BlueSteakTacos]

Another great video! I love how you manage to explain complex things in a way that is super interesting and engaging, plus it's super informative! You obviously put a lot of work and love into these videos, it is greatly appreciated!

[@arcticfoxcreations6029]

I’m so glad you posted this about this island. I was wondering how things are there nowadays after the frenzy!

[@ddraigmafon4725]

Thank you for such an interesting, informative and thoroughly researched video, Kris. Your sensitivity when commenting on fatalities is really appreciated.

[@maureenparton7104]

Fascinating video Kris, thought 19 mins would be too long but I was hooked right to the end.

[@fredrit323]

If there is one thing humans will never understand is shark behaviour , they have been there for millions of years and so called shark experts have come up with all kinds of theories on why and when they attack humans , and none of them make any sense to me. As a surfer myself I took my chances over the years in different parts of the world and I always accepted the risks involved , the ocean is truly a magical place that must be respected , enter at your own risk...

[@listrahtes]

We do understand sharks ,it's just that we have a lot of activists with and without degrees pushing an agenda instead of knowledge. Sharks have the ability for opportunistic feeding and a change of prey pattern. Depending on the sharks it's differently prominent ( white tip -+++) that means we are prey for them . Just not the genetic imprint but even that can change over the years.

[@alistairrobinson3865]

Extremely high quality material mate! Very enjoyable and informative, well done!!! 🙏

[@emilybader2642]

This is so well done shark bytes I was super hooked the whole way through 👏

[@jacqueshollands5630]

A very informative video, Kristian. And excellently presented as always.

[@jdx4174]

Very interesting topic. Have read about the attacks there but never digged that deep. Thanks for the Update!

[@herrowitsmeme6623]

This was a very informative video and that is exactly the reason I keep coming back to this channel. Keep up the good work, you really are making a difference educating others, including myself ^-^

[@winterfoxcloud]

you're the most delightfully coherent scientist i've had the pleasure of watching - love this channel and always my 1st click for anything shark related

[@SHARKBYTES]

so glad to hear this!

[@nqgamer]

This is a great idea for a video series, some of the more well known locations, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape STH Africa, Margaret River - Australia, Florida’s New Smyrna Beach & Maui Hawaii, these odd little places that attract sharks & attacks more than others. And even some of the historic places with shark associated names.

Amazing channel. Love your insights.

[@marcmooney9293]

This is very interesting and chilling. The airline message resonates hard. Great episode! Sad as well. :(

[@bommy3272]

I never heard much about Reunion Island but now I'd love to check it out. Great Video! Beautiful work!! 20/10!!

[@SHARKBYTES]

It’s such an interesting island, looks gorgeous as well!

[@rstar6496]

Excellent assessment. Thanks!

[@rangdipkin6826]

Thanks for including Oceanic Whitetips in your "big four". Love your videos, good sir :D

[@jscatt6123]

Great episode!

[@Zombiekitty013]

Yay! I needed my Shark Bytes fix!!!

[@SHARKBYTES]

Sundays got yah covered!

[@hoopgal3216]

I’ve followed Reunion Island closely since the death in 2011. As an avid surfer who lives in Florida, bull sharks are the only local species that terrify me! You did a great summary of the shark problem Reunion Island has had. As beautiful as it seems, I would not take a trip to surf there. If I lived there and had no other choice, then I would surf and just take the risk 😬

[@SuperAmin1950]

Yes, you must surf, sir; sharks need not apply, especially the bully boys in New Smyrna and Fort Pierce 'North Jetty'¡☆! 🤔

[@AlohamanIan]

I spend a lot of time surfing in Mauritius, and i can say the lagoons inside the reefs are pretty shallow and I think a large shark would struggle to move around in them freely. The reefs themselves are also so shallow, its almost impossible for a human to cross them without a scratch or cut so the Passes would be the only real entry/exit points for a large fish.

[@Druzica18]

thanks for this video! I love learning about sharks, and I'd never heard of Reunion Island!

[@Plexus37]

Fascinating stuff. I would be interested in you doing a similar video on Hawaii and especially the Tiger sharks off Maui. I have read a lot and learned about our area here, but would love to see what you could dig up on this. Its similar with the favourable geology, water activities and Volcanoes, but with Whale migrations injected too.

[@raybrannon1118]

The Indian Ocean is a particularly interesting topic of conversation for sharks.. this was a great video, I’d be interested to hear about places like Seychelles, or some more islands maybe off the coast of India, clearly the Red Sea, which is just an inlet of the Indian Ocean, has had its shark history, keep on going my brother! Stay up ☝🏾💪🏾

[@annadushenkina3512]

Just wanted to say: love your videos dude! You are my go-to channel to learn and keep up with shark news!

[@SHARKBYTES]

Glad to hear you’re enjoying shark bytes!! 😁🦈

[@sharks3653]

This was a great video as always Kris. All the points you laid on the table all made sense. It's good that people now have enough data to influence their decisions about going in the water.🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈🦈 BTW, if you don't mind me asking, How come today's episode came later than usual?

[@SHARKBYTES]

Wait did I get the scheduled timing wrong? 😂 what time did it come out for you?

[@sharks3653]

@@SHARKBYTES It came out an hour later than normal.

[@stuckinperth]

The coral reef has everything to do with the sharks accessibility. In Guam the drop off is huge(deepest in the ocean) but since there’s reef around almost the whole island sharks don’t come in.

[@jayenticknap3981]

I visited Rénion in June 2011 performing at the Sakifo music festival. It was an incredibly beautiful place and a group of us went scuba diving for the first time. We’d read that that there had been shark attacks in the past but our boat captain claimed he’d never seen a shark…we didn’t believe him. Less than a week after returning to the UK we read about the surfer who had been attacked…this must have been the first attack mentioned in this video. I would definitely return to the island but be much more cautious if going in the water.

[@atrotet]

Excellent video, from a reunionese ;) Thank you mate.

[@jasonnevinbrown]

Brilliant video 👏🏻

[@kaviyaneskandari2316]

Great video! Can't wait to see your collab with Robert Marc Lehmann

[@shanon72327]

Very interesting! Could you also do a video about Mauritius and their shark crisis, please? cheers!

[@pezzetinosharkmeister9505]

Hey Kris, very dilligent analyses!

[@ruthjones5557]

I remember holidaying in Mauritius 🇲🇺 in 2003. We travelled with a Mauritian friend who was returning to visit relatives. I recall asking her about the risk of shark encounters in the Mauritian waters and she said that whilst it wasn’t impossible for big sharks to come into the lagoon, it was unlikely and that most locals considered swimming inside the lagoon to be fairly safe. But then she told me what Mauritians thought about La Reunion. She said it was well known for sharks and shark attacks in the waters of that island. Interesting video and well presented.

[@karenmurray351]

Super episode Kris 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🦈

[@timw4432]

First time watching the channel, great content!

[@SHARKBYTES]

Glad you enjoyed the video! Please do go check out our other content 🦈

[@hideakipage8151]

I've been visiting Reunion for over 25years as my wife is from there. St Gilles and St Pierre have beautiful lagoons which are safe. I don't go beyond the Coral reef though. I think you have to respect the fact that you are entering the natural environment of these sharks. I think that many people have a sense of entitlement and treat the ocean as a playground. The sharks were there long before people. I agree with the observation about fresh water run off going into the sea. There has been a lot of rapid modernization of Reunion, and, unfortunately coupled with high population density, comes with a lot of rubbish and litter that goes into the many dried river beds that cover the Island. There are torrential rains that clean these out and it all ends up in the sea. I believe that this creatives a new environment that many marine species exploit including sharks. That being said, do come to Reunion. It is spectacular.

[@SHARKBYTES]

I’d absolutely love to come!

[@MauricioGarzaLivas]

Your logo is just perfect 👌🏼

[@Emzibubble87]

Loved this!

[@SHARKBYTES]

super glad you enjoyed it!!

[@DaschonelleMusic]

I live in the state of South Australia. We've had two fatal shark attacks this year. One was about a week or two ago.

[@BinroWasRight]

This is some brilliant science, mate!

[@jocelia4622]

Hello . Good Evening Kris 😊😊Happy Sunday 💞😊

[@davidviner5783]

Excellent video.

[@quentin3120]

Very nice video. I was born and raised on this Island and love sharks despite those incident. That led me to get a Master degree is Oceanography during which I met with someone who had a interesting take on this. His name is Eric CLUA, a shark expert who study shark personality. He talks a lot about problematic individuals among a species instead of problematic species. Saying that the same few sharks might be the ones causing that. It's a very intersting topic that might interest you too.

[@turtlejeepjen314]

SUCH a great video!!! 🏆🏆 It’s obvious this took a TON of research & factchecking… SO much work went into this, it makes ME exhausted thinking about having to do this for school… I can’t imagine doing this for “fun”…. But I do really appreciate it! ❤

[@factchecker472]

I approve this message😄

[@SHARKBYTES]

This was a big video for sure! Many hours of work hahaha

[@11jrg11]

Great video! New Sub, Liked and of course commented!

[@philbradshaw8053]

Really enjoy the channel!👍some people see the natural world as their entitled playground with no respect or understanding of nature. Its just very sad😢

[@krsnab7718]

Hi, been really enjoying your content. As you said, there is no one actual reason we can point out for the attacks. As from the comparaison with Mauritius island, we have a large number of bull sharks all around the island and also murky waters. One thing to take in account is the fact that compared to Reunion island we have a very very small number of people in the water/waterman. The surf crowd is very small amd not very adventurous, and people prefer white sand beaches inside lagoons where going for a swim = having a beer sitting by the water edges. I think that we also have to take in account the ratio of attacks per people in the water when comparing to Mauritius.

[@dennisliedschulte6428]

I just recently discovered your channel and just love it :). Thanks for your work and dedication. I guess you get a lot of messages - maybe I will try to reach you in the future to do an interview for a podcast I am working on. Greetings from Germany :)

[@SHARKBYTES]

Hi Dennis - thanks for your kind words! 🦈

[@factchecker472]

Thank you, this is a very Interesting video! Some interesting other info on the shark crisis there are the the YT video 'Surrounded: Island of the sharks', the widely available podcast 'Reunion: Shark attacks in paradise' and magazine article 'Shark attacks in a surfers' paradise'. Of the big 4 it's mainly the bull and tiger sharks that attack there, with an occasional GW encounter. It may only be safer now because there are fewer people in the water and those who dare to surf use personal shark deterrent devices, something you didn't mention in your otherwise excellent analysis.

[@jademegann]

Another amazing video! I have learnt so much in such a short time from your channel about sharks & it’s been amazing to share your love for sharks and fun facts with others to get them to see sharks aren’t scary monsters 🩵 I would love to become a channel member but am unable to find where to do that! 🦈

[@InfiniteBlue_]

To be honest I see almost no Protecting reef structures /Lagoons around La reunion while Mauritius is around 50% surrounded by them. I think that makes also a big difference of how many bigger sharks you get. Especially Oceanic White tips don't stay in these Lagoons or Great whites. In Tahiti Bigger sharks are mostly seen outside the lagoons by fisherman and Spearfisher. And I also think it makes a drastic difference when people go swimming in calm 1-2 meter deep crystal clear lagoon water or the waters in La Reunion.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Agreed with the oceanic and great whites part, although the main offenders here seem to be Bull and Tigers, who definitely will hang out on reefs on occasion. I think it’s perhaps more down to how humans use the water across the two islands, and also the geology too.

[@tna--]

there nearly no surfer or swimmers outside lagoon in mauritius, thats the difference, they have as many sharks as reunion, juste they have no humans to attack. all attacks come from BULL sharks, so great white and oceanic is not a topic here

[@casarnp]

There was commercial development that impacted fresh water runoff which increased the bill shark populations. This is THE factor not the topography or volcanic activity. As the latter has been in existence well before the attacks

[@TT-dx4ez]

I went there in May this year to film pro surfing. The locals were talking about how sediment laden water from the east coast had been pumped across to the west coast for irrigation adding to the water run off in other wise clear "shark free" water. I believe that has since been discontinued as part of the over all solution along with a significant amount of culling.

[@mrmaxcarter2306]

Why cull sharks? It's their home. You don't have to go swim.

[@McCuipandKitty-qw1wj]

Another awesome video. Looks like a beautiful island I’d like to visit, think I might skip swimming there though 🤣. This is why I always preferred the Caribbean as the waters around Trinidad and Tobago are really clear so the sharks don’t usually get mixed up and chomp the occasional tourist. One of the most interesting encounters I heard of their was when a group of tourists snorkelling near Bucca reef watched a tiger shark take a manta ray very close to them in shallow waters

[@SHARKBYTES]

Sounds like an awesome encounter right there!

[@McCuipandKitty-qw1wj]

@@SHARKBYTES I felt bad for them, they came into the bar I was drinking at looking terrified and ordering the strongest drinks they had. From what I could gather they were up close and personal with the manta ray, saw the fin approaching and assumed it was a dolphin. My guess is the ray came into the shallower waters to escape the shark

[@user-im7db9kn6u]

Carribean waters Tiger sharks What happened to Jordan Lindsey is a f*cking reminder No diving or snorkelling 🤿 for me ☝️ lol 😆

[@blarfroer8066]

​@@user-im7db9kn6udiving around sharks is usually safer than swimming around sharks.

[@proudathiest]

I don't know how I found myself here but the vid was excellent.

[@brianmoore1164]

When you show a captioned speaker on the screen, it helps to leave it up long enough to read the captions.

[@ShandiNicole1982]

I would also think that as an Island it relies on fishing, the cleaning of catches and so on.

[@n116gtr]

Great video, great analysis, clearly a ton of effort went into this, hopefully one day people can surf the incredible waves around Reunion and the sharks can swim... probably still not at the same time tho lol

[@artbargestudio]

Wonderful place. Book now!

[@jonathanboyer768]

Where there's reef is safe.. all the attacks took place where there were no reefs, at some specific time (twilight/sunset ) and nearby rivers (not for all of the attacks). Just to mention as well attacks started shortly after the creation of a fish farm. Nice video.

[@ephilippos]

Great Video thank you!! Any presentation on the Philippines as to the types of sharks, past & most present history of attacks on humans and in which areas?? Thank you!!

[@seanpenfold5]

I would certainly love to visit this island.

[@Keepone974]

Thank you for making this video! I'm from Reunion and surfed there in the 00s extensively. I also went back there last July and talked to many surfers there who are still going in the water. If anyone has any question about this, feel welcome to ask anything 😄.

[@lifeglade]

Do you surf at all in reunion? What species do you think is more responsible? Bulls or tigers? Do you know anyone that has had any sort of encounter with a shark? You asked for questions, so here ya go 😂😂😂😂😂. Don’t mean to be mean either

[@Keepone974]

@@lifeglade Haha no worries, it's a subject I'm passionate about so it's all fine. I haven't surfed in Réunion since 2012 If I recall correctly. The species that has caused the shark crisis are most likely bull sharks. Very agressive type of sharks. I do not know anyone personally who has encountered a shark. I've never seen one myself. I would not surf in Réunion without an anti-shark device now. Those devices (sharkshield) have been tested and seem to work well. The last attack in Saint-Leu was on someone who didn't have one. Nobody with a sharkshield has been attacked so far.

[@lifeglade]

@@Keepone974 yea I thought it was bull sharks too, since one of the attacks involved two sharks and tiger sharks are generally solitary. And thanks for answering!

[@noradinneen1]

Very interesting.

[@RealEvilLordExdeath]

I remember hearing so much about Reunion Island shark attacks some time ago that i googled it.

[@casarnp]

The worst attacks were caused by Bull sharks which operated in pairs and packs! Schiller was attacked by multiple Bull sharks at once. His legal and arms were removed by the sharks which is why his body washed off the rescue board.

[@matteast1104]

You didn't mention that during the culls the attacks went up despite fewer sharks. My wife is from Mauritius and we've hypothesised a lot about it.. concluding that the Princess tuna cannery on Mauritius may be contributing to shark behaviour by trawling the ocean between Mauritius and reunion so reducing shoals the sharks may have otherwise fed on down there. As for the lack of attacks on Mauritius I think you're right about the topography and reefs but would add that the reefs in Mauritius almost seal off the most popular swimming areas like flic en flac. The north and north west of Mauritius are considered to have more sharks. We've watched humpbacked whales feeding there mere meters from the cliffs so it drops away quite precipitously. I've seen a guy catch a small black tip reef shark from the rocks there.. Fewer beaches would make that area less prone to incidents though. They do catch the occasional tiger shark there and markin fishing is very popular for tourists. There are also many dolphin pods around the island.

[@isaphiab.3838]

I wish more people would „step back and look at issues from a broader perspective“!

[@D0nnI3D]

As a French native speaker, really appreciated that you did your best with the pronouciation of the French parts of the video. I actually didn't know that there had been so many deaths in La Réunion, though I did know there were many sharks. I still have a hard time with the idea of killing sharks for being, well....sharks. I understand the pain of losing someone, but it's not a reason to take revenge on an animal.

[@scottcantdance804]

The Beast of Gévaudan would like to have a word with you.

[@Keepone974]

So the thing is, what happened is maybe an imbalance compared to before and some fishermen reported much fewer small reef sharks. It is possible that there was a gradual replacement by bull sharks who also hunt reef sharks. Very complicated matter. In the 90s and the 00s, the "shark risk" was there but generally speaking, the West coast was safe, then all of a sudden those attacks happened. Something changed, we just don't know what exactly.

[@SHARKBYTES]

Thanks - I did try!

[@CharlieBam]

I don't think they were killed for revenge, I'd guess it was mainly economic concerns for lost tourism. They have to care for their families and its expensive to live in such an isolated place. Culling sharks seems extra pointless and damaging in an area that has huge shark migrations.

[@D0nnI3D]

​@@CharlieBamI don't know if revenge was the correct term, but it does feel like we think we have a right to kill animals because they inconvenience us, be it for tourism or any other reason. I know how naive that sounds, but we all share the same planet, no need to kill just because we can and/or think we are more important. Yes the loss of a life is tragic, I just happen to think that that's the case whatever species may be concerned.

[@gros_lemming8439]

there was a good documentary movie that fallowed the scientist during the shark crisis, i think it was called Attaques de requins à la réunion: l'enquête. it was a man from the island trying to understand the situation in its entire complexity, there was witnesses from the families who lost souls to the sea, historians, scientist, protesters and he visited all the spots to anderstand the context, fascinating and impressive movie !

[@leefarnsworth5265]

Thanks for the video, very educational. Will be visiting Reunion island early yanuary 2024. Terrified of the sea at the best of times due to a close encounter 25 years ago, no harm done but that was enough snorkeling for me. Got nose bumped in shallow water. Been very wary eversince, stick to paddling these days.

[@SHARKBYTES]

How exciting - I hope you have a great time!

[@kzr313]

What do you mean by nose bumped in shallow water?

[@mrkipling2201]

I just watched a documentary film called ' Of Man and Shark '. I think that was the title anyway. It was about this English bloke who goes to Fiji and dives to Shark Reef and swims with the Bull Sharks. Yes, I know they feed the Sharks, but it hasn't had any behaviour change in the Sharks. It's also made a huge difference in the economy in Fiji, in a positive way.

[@michellejones5541]

My daughter went to reunion island in 2009 and was warned about shark attacks then

[@septsky98]

Would love for you to cover New Smyrna Beach, Florida! I always had a fear of the ocean, but being born and raised in FL you dont get much of a choice for recreation as a kid, and I grew up swimming here often. It wasn't until I got older that I realized it was called the shark bite capital of the world! ....Thanks mom and dad....

[@SHARKBYTES]

Have swum at New Smyrna a few times (my parents lived in florida for 5 years), never once even seen a shark! Stats are very real though!

[@celine8811]

Excellent video, as usual. I'm just wondering: the contributing factors you enumerate still exist. So why is it safe now (supposedly)? Only the measures takes by the government that are working?

[@energybynature502]

Ive swam there before but only in the netted areas, there are signs everywhere saying requin! It is a beautiful place though I would live there in a heartbeat.

[@andrewdockrill]

Blows my mind that people get upset that the shark attacks continued to happen and blamed the government even though they were banned from the water but went in anyway 😂😂

[@sirbarringtonwomblembe4098]

In Nov 2009 I went on a 2 wk trip to Sharm el Sheik. Being a keen swimmer I went to go snorkelling and see the amazing coral reef. I was told that all the sharks in the Strait of Tiran/Tiran island area had been scared off years ago. Offshore I often saw numerous boats with scuba divers - it was a popular place for diving. I saw a seasnake & barracuda on my ventures into the sea. One day I saw a large shape come into view (the waters are very clear there) as I snokelled a couple of feet under the surface - it was a shark. For some reason I was not particularly afraid - I insinctively felt that it was not a maneater - it was not great white bluish in colour - it was lighter, brownish c 5ft in length From my Fish Index Diving Map/Red Sea I looked at later that day (I just looked it out today for the first time in years) I reckon that it was a Black tip reef shark, though I didn't notice a black tip on the dorsal fin, cos it was face-on to me. Most of the tourists in the area were Russian, but I swam up to the pontoons and made shark fin gestures with a hand and said there was a shark just offshore. I dont recall if anyone took any notice. A month later after I got home a German woman was mauled to death by a tiger shark in that area. When I researched this a few years ago I found out that the attack was actually 13 months later - 2010. This year's BBC documentary mentioned the incident. Apart from seeing a great white in the Persian Gulf when I was a teenager in the Merchant Navy, the only other shark I had seen in the wild was a Hammerhead in Tenerife when I was on a dolphin/whale watching trip a few years ago. Again it was about 5 ft long.

[@Soulboy63]

Just came back from Sharm , they always say , no sharks !! THE poor Russian Popov , its still rare. Was an attack in Ros Mohamed as well , child & Guide lost a limb.

[@spruce5020]

I would definitely love to visit La Réunion.

[@kuma194]

That’s how it is, living with sharks sadly. Nothing can be done than build a wall around. Circle of life. Rip to the people who lost their lives there, but remember sharks aren’t afraid to use u as a snack. 🙏🏼

[@christinewhitmore2062]

Well done

[@erikasantoshafitness348]

I lived there for 2 years 2004-2007. I used to surf alone at sunrise at St Gilles les Bains, I swam long distances from st Gilles to Boucan Canot ( in a group)…there were no attacks then. It was so crazy when I was hearing the news later. I literally had nightmares. 😢

[@KenFullman]

Still no explanation why it peaked in 2011. But the ocean is such an unknown that, it's unlikely we'll ever know the full detail. Some guesses I have are: 1) Population decline of prey species causing the sharks to become less selective about what they eat. 2) Displacement of the sharks from some other area causing greater numbers of them to be around this island 3) Increase of sharks as a natural part of the Lotka-Volterra cycle.

[@ltsmash7527]

as a diver i know that the best time to see a shark is in the morning: they are stuffed to the gills and powered themself completely out over the night. Most of them are more active in the night i think so maybe its the best to meet/visit them when they are going to "sleep" or be inactive or shortly after they woke up.

[@willt6956]

This was very interesting and I felt, momentarily, good about swimming around Reunion Island, but I looked it up and I can't afford it anyway

[@dougieroberts7045]

Hang on a minute, the authorities tell people not to go swimming due to shark attacks, people ignore this and then blame the authorities ????????????