Réunion (French: La Réunion; previously Île Bourbon) is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about 200 kilometres (120 mi) south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.
Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France. Like the other overseas departments, Réunion is also one of the 27 regions of France (being an overseas region) and an integral part of the Republic with the same status as those situated on the European mainland.
Réunion is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, is part of the Eurozone. [source: wikipedia]
***************************************
The Malaysian Star news
written by Nick Vinocur, Reuters
Tuesday August 7, 2012
France will hire professional fishermen to kill some 20 sharks off the Indian Ocean island of Reunion this week in an effort to understand the reasons for a series of attacks in the surfing hotspot.
Two surfers have been attacked by sharks within a week. One narrowly survived the loss of a hand and a foot in a mauling on Sunday while the other died from his injuries last Monday.
Officials in the town of Saint-Leu, near a popular surfing spot where Sunday's attack took place, called on authorities to cull populations of tiger and bull sharks which they say have multiplied in the past year.
Some 300 locals and surfers, angered by the attacks, demonstrated in front of the French island's central police station demanding the sharks be culled.
France's overseas minister has refused a regulated cull, saying scientific studies must be conducted before hunting is allowed, to try to understand the source of a toxin in the sharks' flesh which leads to severe food poisoning.
Hunting bull sharks - known to attack humans - and tiger sharks is allowed in Reunion, but fishermen have avoided them because of the toxin, and locals say this is why they have flourished.
In addition to the surfer's death last Monday, two people were killed by sharks last year, in June and September, prompting local authorities to step up monitoring.
Shark attacks have been on the rise elsewhere in the Indian Ocean, especially in Australia. Surfers are often the victims.
No comments:
Post a Comment