Tiger shark culled in Noumea in February 2023. Photo: Supplied
Nouméa's municipality and New Caledonia's Southern province have been ordered to cease "preventive" shark culling and to pay US$3,300 to local environmental organisation EPLP (Ensemble pour la Planète).
In its ruling on December 28, the local administrative tribunal ruled as null and void earlier decisions made by the two institutions in response to a spate of shark attacks in early 2023.
One Australian tourist was killed in February.
The court deemed the culling response as "disproportionate" in comparison to pursuing the goal of human life protection, and also that there had been "no scientific study" to determine the exact population of targeted shark species or the impact of such culling on the marine biodiversity.
In an earlier ruling in mid-October 2023, the court had ordered that the cull targeting tiger sharks and bull sharks had to cease, because of massive collateral damage to other marine species.
Local NGOs estimate 83 tiger sharks and 44 bull sharks were killed during 2023.
But Nouméa mayor Sonia Lagarde had responded by disregarding the decision and reiterated her order to carry on with the shark-killing operation for tiger and bull sharks, even in the areas labelled "marine reserves".
Popular beaches at New Caledonia's capital Nouméa (the "Baie des Citrons" or Lemons Bay, as well as the famous Anse Vata) were reopened to the public on December 7, after shark nets up to 700 metres long were installed.
These were funded by a special French grant of some US$550,000.
Outside those secured areas, users are advised to swim "at their own risk".
Meanwhile, in the north of Maui Island, a 39-year-old Hawaiian surfer was killed following a shark attack on December 30.
Two days earlier, on Ethel Beach in South Australia, a 15-year-old surfer also died after receiving fatal leg wounds inflicted by a shark, local police said.