Following two fatal shark attacks near the Anse Lazio beach in Praslin Island in the last two weeks; the Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration has issued a temporary ban on swimming or entering the water in certain bays of the island of Praslin and islands off the coast of Praslin.
On Tuesday, August 16, honeymooner Ian Redmond from Lancashire was killed by a shark. A 36-year-old French tourist was killed by a shark off Anse Lazio beach on Praslin on August 2.
The Seychelles Maritime Safety Administration issued an advisory stipulating people shouldn’t swim or enter the water in the following areas:
1. Anse Lazio- (patrolled by the Police and National Parks Authority)
2. Anse Georgette, Petite Anse Kerlan and Grand Anse Kerlan (patrolled by Lemuria Resort)
3. St Pierre island (patrolled by National Parks Authority)
4. Curieuse island (patrolled by National Parks Authority)
For all other areas of Praslin and La Digue, people should swim close to the beach, within a short distance, and not in deep water. This measure will be enforced for a certain period in order to search for the shark and remove it from the water.
The Maritime Safety Administration will also reinforce the ban of dumping of waste from yachts and other boats as this is considered one of the possible reasons for the presence of sharks near the beach.
According to the Seychelles Tourism Board, the last recorded fatal shark attack in Seychelles waters was in 1963, and therefore the two attacks are considered as extremely unusual events.
