Bourail and Poe

Ask the operator how tidal current, swell, weather, certification and recent experience affect access to Green Island, Grand coude de Kele and Shark Fault. Do not infer a safe recreational profile from a named wall's overall depth. The operator advertises some cave-like or canyon terrain, which should be treated as open-water visual features unless specialist overhead qualifications, explicit permission and emergency planning are present. Check breathing-gas, equipment, guide-to-diver ratio, marine radio, oxygen and boat recovery. For snorkeling or freediving, no solo breath-hold training, avoid hyperventilation, and use a trained buddy with a realistic rescue plan. Protected-area rules restrict parts of the Poe snorkel watercraft zone; storms and turbid water can cause cancellations or safety restrictions.

Bourail has a provincial community medical centre (CMS) for appropriate local care, not a verified on-site recompression chamber or guaranteed round-the-clock specialist dive support. Call 15 for medical dispatch, 16 for maritime rescue, and use the operator's emergency communications plan. Published specialist hyperbaric referral information is associated with the Noumea area; availability, transfer timing and admission must be coordinated by medical responders. Obtain suitable evacuation and diving insurance; report suspected decompression injury or arterial gas embolism immediately rather than attempting to self-transport or resume diving. Contacts: New Caledonia tourism emergency directory, Province Sud medical centres and published French hyperbaric directory.

The Poe lagoon and surrounding coast lie within the UNESCO-listed West Coastal Zone marine area, while provincial natural-reserve designations control local recreation. Province Sud rules prohibit or restrict fishing and taking marine organisms, harming coral and wildlife, fires, inappropriate camping, dogs in identified reserve areas and prohibited overflight. The local maritime authority also sets a buoy-marked exclusion for watercraft in the Poe underwater-trail zone; the 2015 amendment changes the legally described marker arrangement. Ile Verte additionally has seasonal overflight constraints in June-October. Do not collect shells or coral, feed or pursue turtles or sharks, anchor on reefs, enter turtle nesting space or assume an advertised boat trip is permission to land anywhere. Verify exact current maps and notices with the authorities. Primary legal access references: Province Sud reserve list and maritime navigation orders.