Réunion Island Shark Attacks (2026 Report)

Picturesque beaches. White sandy shorelines shaded by palm trees, and turquoise waters boasting world-class waves that surfers traveled from all over the world to ride. Practically paradise on earth -- if it weren’t for the sharks. 

Réunion is a small speck of an island located in the Indian Ocean, a stopover point for many migratory shark species. It is one of the “sharkier” areas of the world, with a string of attacks in the 2010s. 

“La Crise Requins,” or, the Shark Crisis 

From the years of 2011 to 2019, there were 30 shark attacks on Réunion Island -- 11 of them fatal. This number makes up an astounding 18.5% of known global shark fatalities over that period, according to an article from science.org. 

The two main shark species responsible for attacks on Réunion are bull sharks and tiger sharks, which are also responsible for all of the fatal attacks on the island. Tiger sharks are more common in the region, accounting for more attacks. 

The sharp rise in attacks quickly became surfers’ and beachgoers’ nightmare, but scientists’ and researchers’ dream. Réunion grew into a hub for shark research, fostering groundbreaking behavioral studies, collaborative conservation efforts, and new approaches to reducing human-shark interactions. 

Uncertainty around the cause 

“As far as I'm aware, there's not something specific to point to [that caused the rise in attacks], because people have been using the ocean there for decades,” said Ryan Daly, a researcher who has been studying sharks in the Western Indian Ocean for over 10 years. 

The island’s location plays a role in the high number of sharks in the area, but not more so than any other islands in the Indian ocean. 

“There's all these little dots throughout the Indian Ocean, like Seychelles and Mauritius, where small coastal shark species can stop over as they move throughout the Indian Ocean,” said Joseph Martinez, a Ph.D. student at the University of Florida who manages the ISAF (International Shark Attack File) database.

“So these are congregation points. And if you put a high number of people next to the sharks’ track, like on these small islands, you're going to have a high number of shark-human interactions,” Martinez said. 

So, while not surprising that sharks are seen around Réunion, there was never the level of interactions that the island experienced during the 2010s. There is nothing particularly significant about Réunion that would make it more suitable compared to other islands and coastlines in the area. Something had to have changed to cause this massive spike in incidents, but what? 

There are a few factors that can influence shark-human encounters in Réunion. The rise in tourism in the early 2000s brought more swimmers and surfers into the water, increasing the chances of people running into sharks. 

Tourism has also degraded sharks’ natural habitat. Pollution and overfishing on the island prevent sharks from feeding properly, leading them to venture closer to the coast in search of food. 

Additionally, sharks became a protected species prior to the spike of attacks, and the sale of shark meat has been banned since 1999. Sharks were once fished in Réunion Island, and since they are no longer targeted by fishermen, they are able to safely swim closer to the coast. 

Some locals have even suggested that a marine reserve on the West Coast established in 2007, where most of the attacks have occurred, may have led to the increase of shark-human interactions due to the high food source and spearfishing ban in the area. 

Still, the high rise in attacks was unprecedented. Daly offers a guess that there may have been a broader environmental change rather than a local one. 

“If it wasn't something that changed in Réunion, it was something that changed elsewhere that impacted Réunion,” Daly said, referring to the continued uncertainty around the cause of attacks. 

“ I think that this also highlights the potential effects of industrial fishing. [Industrial fishermen] might have fished out a food source that all those sharks were feeding on nearby, cutting off their food source, so they came to Réunion, had to change their habits, and started biting people there.”

How Réunion Island handled the crisis: bans, drumlines and cullings 

With the severity and number of the attacks only worsening, Réunion’s first step in mitigation was to enforce temporary bans on swimming, surfing, and other water sports in 2013 at all open water beaches, according to an article on Science Direct. 

While closures are the most effective way of avoiding shark attacks altogether, locals and tourists, especially surfers, became upset that they were being told they couldn’t use the ocean. The bans were also ignored by many. 

SMART Drumlines 

Drumlines are a popular technology used in Brazil, Australia, and Réunion Island to reduce shark attacks near swimming and surfing beaches. Baited hooks are attached to floating buoys and checked regularly for sharks caught, but a traditional drumline can result in a high level of bycatch of unharmful marine life. 

Shark Management Alert in Real Time (SMART) Drumlines have shown to be more useful in mitigating shark attacks without killing unnecessary marine life. When a shark takes the bait, the system immediately sends an alert so that the shark can be killed, tagged, relocated, or released. Tagging sharks as opposed to killing them can provide valuable data on shark movements and behavior. 

“There was some good evidence to show that sharks that were caught and released did not come back to the same area, so I think SMART drumlines may be part of a solution,” said Daly. 

However, “there have been no independent reviews undertaken on SMART drum lines regarding their ability to reduce shark bites,” according to an article on Sea Shepard published in 2017.  

Réunion began using SMART drum lines in August of 2015, killing the bull sharks and tiger sharks caught and releasing untargeted species. 

The Problem With Cullings 

Réunion started culling, or hunting and killing, sharks in 2011. There were 21 shark bites, nine fatal from 2011 to 2017, compared to four shark bites and one fatality from 2005 to 2011, according to ISAF data. From this data, we can see culling is not effective in reducing shark bites.

Culling directly harms shark populations, disrupts marine ecosystems, and fails to address the underlying causes of shark attacks. Non-lethal alternatives, such as SMART drum lines and drone monitoring, are more environmentally friendly and humane methods. 

Sharks are at the top of the food chain, playing a crucial role in the balance of marine ecosystems. Their presence heavily influences the behavior and populations of other species, which can have a snowball effect on the whole ecosystem. 

“Top predators can also cause a fear response, where everything else around that top predator behaves differently, and it has adapted differently because of the presence of this one shark,” Daly said. Their presence has the potential to alter a myriad of factors across marine environments. 

Cultural Implications 

The French control Réunion Island, and the French attitude can have a significant effect on how shark issues are handled. 

“It is a cultural expectation of the French for [the ocean] to be safe and for that to be the responsibility of the government, the province, or the municipality,” Daly said. 

Unfortunately, this can lead to a sense of entitlement among some residents and surfers, who expect to be able to use the ocean safely at all times and hold the government accountable when shark attacks occur. It also creates a hostility towards sharks, which in turn can lead to illegal cullings and endangerment of the animal. 

The shark risk in Réunion Island in 2025

The last shark attack in Réunion Island was on May 9, 2019, when French surfer Kim Mahbouli was attacked by a bull shark and tragically died in the water due to his injuries. He was surfing by Saint-Leu, an area closed for swimming and surfing, when he was attacked. 

Since the long string of attacks in the 2010s, the French government and local authorities on Réunion have been working to utilize what scientists have learned through their research to implement safety measures that will allow them to reopen beaches and bring back the island’s tourism economy. They also hope for locals to be able to return to their love for the ocean. 

Although there is no perfect solution to ending shark attacks, our technology and mitigation methods are always improving. Perhaps at some point in the future there will be a way for humans and sharks to coexist peacefully around Réunion’s coast.