Ok, it's been a while for me, but I've got something to share....
I recently spoke with someone that is apparently starting a shark tour similar to the one in Haleiwa. But he said that he'll be running it out of portlock and 3 miles off shore into the Kaiwi channel. WOW!
Now, I've heard stories of how the sharks in Haleiwa are already familiar with the sound of the tour boat and how they come following the boat as soon as it comes out of the harbor and follows it to the spot that they drop their cages. I mean, we've seen pictures of how it even attracted a great white!
SO i don't know about anyone else. But I'm not too cool with the thought of having any more sharks than there already are in the kaiwi. Especially when they start getting the sense that people are good food because we tease them from a cage!!
And if you like...here's the dude's email: juansharks@mac.com Let him know how you feel about it. It'll only be a matter of time before a paddler gets bit during one of our races!
Aloha, AL
Submitted by AlfredVG on Mon, 03/23/2009 - 7:16am
Not agood idea, just like the Haleiwa one. Do we really want the sound of a boat engine to be like ringing the dinner bell?
#1 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 7:24am
yeah, 100+ escort boats, that's like a buffet to the sharks
#2 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 10:16am
An iron Molokai race is sounding better every year!
#3 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 12:12pm
Only fear fear itself. .
#4 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 1:50pm
I tought shark feeding was not legal in HI ?
#5 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 7:53pm
I took one of those tours. sorry guys . last February and it was great. they were feeding them. at the time I never thought of this angle of It. We should get one of those tour guides to comment , they were at home with these sharks and would get in the water with them I was be humbled to say the least with the whole tour.
#6 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 8:34pm
A shark has a territory, it stays there. Usualy this territory is big enough to have enough ressources to feed it...
When you feed sharks, you attract more sharks on the same territory, and you're teaching them : human = food !
Shark feeding becomes to be a bigger problem when you stop feeding the sharks : you have now a place with too many sharks here, without enough food for all of them... and remember, they've been taught : human = food !
#7 Mon, 03/23/2009 - 10:26pm
Hiro, we are talking about tiger and great whites, these shaks are a migratory preditor. They may hang around while theres food, but they are not being fed nearly enough to produce the conditions you describe. Attacks by these animals are rare and when it happens its usually a case of mistaken identity in turbid waters.
How often do people get hit by tigers in Tahiti's clear clean waters.......rare if ever I would guess.
Marara
#8 Tue, 03/24/2009 - 5:46am
Still, I find it STUPID to teach them that where there is a human, there is food...
#9 Tue, 03/24/2009 - 6:10am
not only that but we are threatening there existence. our guide was saying they are becoming extinct by human fishing and pollution which is sad because they are a dinosaur and lived for hundreds of thousands of years and were here long before us and now were impacting them.
I bet I would fell different floating around waiting for the escort boat to come back for me.
#10 Tue, 03/24/2009 - 6:44am
Poor Sharks
#11 Tue, 03/24/2009 - 8:22am
im pretty sure that the sharks have been watching boats, and getting fed from them from alot longer than that shark companies been around, probably not to the degree that they are taking it with going to the same place at the same time everyday, and familiarizing with the sharks, but my dads been a commercial fisherman for over twenty years in hawaii and im very sure that the sharks notice and follow when people catch ahi, gut them on the spot, pull out the heart and gills, and flush them with saltwater for fifteen minutes. even if you are fighting a fish and you are lagging and all the sudden theres a big yank and you pull in half a fish, i can tell you from experience that happens about 1-2 times a month. my dads even kindof had to race the shark in gaffing the fish and getting it in the boat. hes had the sharks pull the gaff and all away, and hes also barely pulled the fish over while the sharkk literally jumps out of the water after it. so the sharks have kknown that they can get food from boats for a long time.
#12 Tue, 03/24/2009 - 9:25pm
Does anybody know what kind of permits are needed for shark tour operations? Are there Federal or State permit requirements? Is there a formal process where I can express my concerns? I want to do something about this, not just contribute to a thread about why I don't want to see a shark tour running in my playground.
#13 Tue, 03/24/2009 - 9:47pm
Duke
I would say that we a source of food don't taste all that great, that is why they don't eat us that much. so be thankful for that. it being your playground and all.
#14 Wed, 03/25/2009 - 1:16pm
Guess the Race Officials and Escort Boats will now need to carry some rifles or spearguns just in case some shark decides to take a bite out of a surfski/OC and or paddler(s) doing the relay/crossing.
Add a bangstick to the list of stuff to strap on your Surfski/OC besides the other stuff mentioned to get while paddling.
#15 Fri, 04/10/2009 - 3:51pm
What I want to know is, how is this dude getting a permit to operate any kind of water activity? My husband just started Hawaiian ocean adventures http://www.hawaiianoceanadventures.com
to operate in kaneohe bay. No permits are being givin out, thankfully the ranch partnered with him..So, how did this guy get a permit?
I am sorry guys, but a shark business so close to such a populated area is not good. I have been on the one in haliewa and loved it, but is doing this fair to the sharks? Here kitty kitty...
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
On a happy note, Happy easter everyone:):)
xoxoxo
terry
#16 Fri, 04/10/2009 - 6:52pm
Duke, I think what you (we) should do that oppose this is to email the Mayor.
#17 Fri, 04/10/2009 - 6:55pm
Terry - I looked at Nakoa's new web-site. Very nice. I think it is great that he is going to shut his business down one day a month in order to give back to the community. I doubt any of the cattle boats ever do anything like that. They would loose to much money. It is good to see someone giving instead of always taking. I think his new venture will take off. Good luck to him.
As far as this shark crap. WTF?
#18 Fri, 04/10/2009 - 11:58pm
In case u neva watch the news, shark tours in HK is gone
http://www.khon2.com/news/local/43018397.html</http://www.khon2.com/news/local/43018397.html>
#19 Tue, 04/14/2009 - 9:22pm
yah. this shark tour thing off HK was about the dumbest idea in the history of mankind.
#20 Wed, 04/15/2009 - 1:10pm
Directions to the meeting location tonite:
7 PM Kamiloiki Elementary School
7788 Hawaii Kai Dr
If coming from town, driving along Kalanianaole, take left at Lunalilo Home Rd. and around the 8th rt. turn rt. on to Hawaii Kai Drive
Google Map
http://tinyurl.com/dem75g
Whether you are for it or against it, it would be good to hear all voices on the matter.
Iolani Lewis said he will be there. Ocean Ramsey, a supporter of shark tours, and a supposed "Shark Conservationist" will hopefully be there to elaborate on her position as well as her background as a "Shark Conservationist"
All who oppose should definitely make it a point to be there and voice your concerns and issues.
#21 Thu, 04/16/2009 - 3:34pm
An article of interest...
http://www.cdnn.info/interview/bobdimond/bd1.html
in short - studies done on marine species demonstrate the same type of feeding/conditioning learning patterns as that of terrestrial animals, ecosystems change, population dynamics change, behavior patterns change ...
Excerpt:
"BOB: The harm to both the ecosystem and the animals being fed is well documented. Although fish feeding advocates argue that sharks and other marine fishes are too distantly removed from terrestrial vertebrates and marine mammals to make valid comparisons, the results of actual research in this area confirm quite the contrary.
In Brain and Intelligence in Vertebrates, a comprehensive review of relevant research that included analysis of the work by Gruber on Caribbean lemon sharks, Dr. Macphail concluded that "The rates of acquisition of conditioned responses in fish appear comparable to those obtained in mammals... The overall conclusion to this survey is, then, that fish, or at least elasmobrachs (sharks) and teleosts, are capable of detecting contingencies between stimuli and reinforcers and that in general their performance appears no less efficient than in other vertebrates." So, in short, the problems manifested in the feeding of terrestrial wildlife such as bears and alligators, should also apply to sharks.
Under Hawaii state law, it is illegal to feed fish in Hanauma Bay and at Molokini shoal because fish feeding by humans was found to both change the composition of the natural fish population by attracting fish that did not normally inhabit the area, and also to change the behavior of the fish by making them more aggressive as they learned to anticipate being fed.
In "A Case for Regulation of the Feeding of Fishes and Other Marine Wildlife by Divers and Snorkelers" marine biologist, Dr. Bill Alevizon, writes: "The continued feeding of wildlife in an area has environmental ramifications that extend well beyond direct threats to individual fed animals; fundamental attributes and processes of the ecosystem that support them are also being affected.... By changing feeding behavior and the types of food taken and time and place of feeding in a variety of fish species, sustained fish feeding at a particular site alters natural food pathways and energy flow within the community, fundamental ecosystem processes, with unpredictable long-term consequences for the local marine ecosystem as a whole. In particular, shark feeding operations, which concentrate highly unnatural numbers of these large, fish-eating predators in a relatively small area, must ultimately unnaturally alter nearby fish populations, which must supply the abnormally large shark aggregations with the bulk of their food supply."
In a 1997 research report published by the University of Hawaii, Hultquist states, "Fish feeding has a negative effect on fish populations over a short period of time... The aggressive species of fish within the community tend to dominate over other fish species, which may result in the decline of non-aggressive species... it is strongly recommended that people discontinue fish feeding activities."
This is just a small sample of the scientific evidence that supports our position"
#22 Thu, 04/16/2009 - 3:54pm
New article from the honolulu advertiser this morning, interesting....
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090515/NEWS01/905150365
Shark-cage dive tours little risk to public safety Hawaii, study finds
2-year Isle study finds the animals stay far out to sea
By Christie Wilson
Advertiser Staff Writers
A scientific study of shark-cage dive tours in Hawai'i indicates they pose little risk to public safety, largely because they operate at least three miles offshore and are frequented by Galapagos and sandbar sharks, two species rarely involved in attacks on humans.
Advertisement
Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology researchers, using acoustic telemetry to track the movements of sharks tagged during the tours, found the animals overwhelmingly stay far out to sea and don't follow tour boats back to shore.
"When it comes to offshore caged shark-diving tours, there is no evidence of any risk to nearshore recreational users," marine scientist Carl Meyer said.
The tours have been operating off O'ahu's North Shore since 2001, capitalizing on a pre-existing phenomenon of sharks congregating around crab-fishing boats that have been using the same area for more than 40 years. The small crab fishery already has conditioned sharks to look for bait discarded from traps set at depths of 200 to 400 feet, Meyer said.
The newly released research also notes that stimuli from inshore recreational activities, such as a surfer paddling on a surfboard, are substantially different from the conditioning stimuli associated with the tour operations, namely the sound of boat engines. Therefore, the tours are unlikely to stimulate a conditioned feeding response in sharks, the study said.
"If these shark tours were a real problem, we would have seen it manifested by now in an increase in attacks," Meyer said.
Shark-diving tours became the subject of renewed controversy when a company planned to launch an operation off Maunalua Bay in Hawai'i Kai. Following community opposition, the company, Shark Discovery Hawaii, dropped its plans.
On April 28 the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board passed a resolution to support a ban on commercial shark tours in Maunalua Bay and statewide.
The Hawai'i Kai controversy has prompted several state legislators to consider introducing a bill to ban shark-dive operations in Hawai'i. During a public meeting on the subject at the Capitol last night, few disputed Meyer's research findings, but representatives of eight scientific and public interest organizations present said they remain unconvinced that commercial shark tours are a favorable enterprise in Hawai'i waters.
"It's amazing to see them dangling things off the sides of the boats and feeding these sharks," said Stuart Coleman, Hawai'i coordinator of the Surfrider Foundation. "You cannot tell me that's healthy and doesn't pose a threat to the people on the boat and to the sharks themselves."
Coleman pointed out that it is illegal to bait or chum for sharks up to 200 miles out to sea.
"The shark tour operators can say, 'Well, we don't do that,' or 'We do just a little bit.' But we all know, based on common sense, that to attract these sharks they have to bait the water."
Billy Robello, with Save Our Surf, showed video of shark tours in which tourists are seen baiting sharks with meat tied to lines and coaxing the animals to snap at the food.
"That's not educational," Robello said. "A shark shouldn't be treated in this manner."
'reality and facts'
Earlier yesterday, Stefanie Brendl, owner of Hawaii Shark Encounters, which operates out of Hale'iwa, yesterday welcomed the scientific findings, which she hopes will counter "the emotional mudslinging" targeting the tours.
"I'm really happy that it's coming from a neutral direction from a knowledgeable expert who has the data, so that we're actually starting to look at some reality and facts instead of all those gut feelings people might have about sharks," she said. "It's good to get a rational discussion. Decisions have to be made based on looking at the facts and not by who is shouting the loudest."
Australia and South Africa license shark-cage diving operators, and Florida and Hawai'i have banned shark feeding in state waters. Shark feeding, except for fishing, is banned in federal waters.
Hawaii Shark Encounters and North Shore Shark Adventures said they do not engage in shark feeding, although Meyer's description of the operations noted that a small amount of fish scraps is used to attract sharks close to the cage for easy viewing and photography.
Meyer said keeping the shark-diving tours outside state waters remains prudent.
"It's probably the most important factor. It creates a buffer and keeps these activities offshore," he said before last night's meeting.
Similar operations in the Caribbean and some other locations are conducted on reefs without the protection of cages, and there have been instances in which participants have been injured or killed by sharks.
transmitters used
The Hawai'i Institute of Marine Biology research involved a two-year study of sharks at the tour sites and analysis of four years of log book records kept by the two companies.
Meyer's team implanted transmitters on sharks at the tour sites and set up listening arrays at the sites and at a buoy 20 miles out to sea, as well as at adjacent nearshore areas. During the two-year study period, the receivers recorded more than 550,000 detections of 36 tagged sharks at the shark-cage diving sites and five miles off Waimea Bay, mostly at depths of 300 to 500 feet. During that same period, the nearshore arrays picked up only 21 detections of three sharks.
"Their primary center of activity, based on our receiver data, is the deeper ledges around the island, and from there they have some presence much deeper offshore and a minor presence in nearshore areas," Meyer said.
The sharks' movement patterns also were consistent with patterns seen at other areas of Hawai'i where there are no shark-diving tours, he said.
Galapagos and sandbar sharks comprise more than 98 percent of the sharks frequenting the caged-diving sites, the study found. Worldwide, since records have been kept, there have been only five confirmed unprovoked attacks attributed to sandbar sharks and a single attack attributed to a Galapagos shark, according to the International Shark Attack File.
Although potentially dangerous tiger sharks and hammerheads are occasional visitors to the tour sites, and a white shark once cruised by, "There is no evidence that the rate of shark attacks along the adjacent coast has increased significantly since the advent of shark-cage diving operations in 2001," the study noted.
Aside from public safety concerns, caged shark-diving tours are opposed on philosophical grounds that the activity alters the natural behavior of sharks.
Meyer said humans already are doing that in myriad ways. "Bear in mind that in populated areas, we do all kinds of things every day that influence marine and terrestrial ecosystems. We fish, we put bait into the water for fishing that may attract sharks," he said.
"Our studies and other research indicate the ecological impacts are probably on the low side."
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com.
#23 Fri, 05/15/2009 - 7:28am
How different is this one? Notice Florida has banned shark tours, sending them to the Carribean.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/26/shark.bite.fatality/index.html
#24 Fri, 05/15/2009 - 9:09am
I've posted other studies previously that demonstrated changes in shark feeding behavior based on human interaction - its difficult to discern the scope and long term validity to this study without looking at all the variables tested and not tested and the environmental constraints oft the study.
I respect Meyers research, but if he is quoted correctly, then he seems to contradict his findings based on his own statements...
The tours have been operating off O’ahu’s North Shore since 2001, capitalizing on a pre-existing phenomenon of sharks congregating around crab-fishing boats that have been using the same area for more than 40 years. The small crab fishery already has conditioned sharks to look for bait discarded from traps set at depths of 200 to 400 feet, Meyer said."
This does not answer the complex issue of shark behavior in situations where an escort boat may be trolling while escorting a paddler, surfskier, or team. But he does note by his very own statement that Shark feeding patterns can be changed by non-natural intervention such as crab fisheries etc.
Secondly, we have seen shark attack or bite humans for reasons even Meyers cannot definitively explain, such as attacks on a snorkeler that may not even resemble a surfer/surfboard stimuli, so i wonder how anyone can come up with a blanket statement to suggest such operations pose little risk.
What is considered "little risk" and where does the weight of profit operations such as shark tours outweigh human safety?
#25 Fri, 05/15/2009 - 12:32pm
The article also misses a point relating to paddlers, as it states...
“When it comes to offshore caged shark-diving tours, there is no evidence of any risk to nearshore recreational users,” marine scientist Carl Meyer said.
Paddlers, kayakers, SUPs (aka surfboard stimuli) all venture further out than recreational users. What is the risk assessment in those waters?
#26 Fri, 05/15/2009 - 12:36pm
This is a comment posted by someone relating to the Honolulu Advertiser article on Meyers study...
It is important to email the reporter on this story cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com
and ask her if she attended the informational meeting. You might be surprised to learn she is based
in Maui and was not at the Shark Informational meeting held at the State Capitol last night. Nor did she watch the statewide broadcast of the meeting on 'Olelo and hear any of the information presented by the community, DLNR, The Coast Guard and NOAA.
This article, and the way it was reported, raises many questions on the practice of how this reporter writes her pieces and how the information was acquired and printed by the Honolulu Advertiser. This has done a great disservice to the statewide community. The Honolulu Advertiser owes our community an apology
for the irresponsible way this story was reported.
Please watch the 'Olelo broadcast on the Shark Tour informational meeting.
#27 Fri, 05/15/2009 - 8:40pm
a comment posted by gregknudsen on the shark tour hearing at the capitol and the Honolulu Advertiser Story
I was there last night, and this story is incomplete.
Even the scientist said feeding is a factor in causing the sharks to gather -- and feeding is illegal. He said the tours would not be viable without feeding.
Further, he only studied the North Shore, where bait dumping and illegal feeding had long established the shark gathering site. In terms of attacks, data show that it hadn't gotten worse -- but it hadn't gotten better, either. Bait dumping should be banned, too.
His "proof" that sharks don't follow boats was OK, but other empirical evidence shows that they do. Let's err on the side of safety.
The scientific facts support the argument against establishing other feeding/shark viewing areas in other waters of the state where they do not already naturally gather.
Finally, if existing laws against feeding can't be enforced, then let's ban commercial shark cages.
See the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board's reso against shark tours at http://twitpic.com/56krb (view full size).
#28 Fri, 05/15/2009 - 8:44pm
Bee-dub, props for THE LONGEST POST EVER.
...and now, back to the shark discussion!
#29 Sat, 05/16/2009 - 6:01am
A few years back a bait boat came into Hanalei Bay and cleaned its nets and decks. The next day two tigers came into the Bay and cruised the shore line by Pavilions and Pine Trees. They had to close the beach. When the boat left- they left. Bait in the water attracts sharks- indisputible. And when a shark attracted by some commercial activity decides to cruise the coast and taste someone's leg- who is to blame? Would the so called experts be willing to establish a cause and effect or would it just be another random attack?
#30 Sun, 05/17/2009 - 8:03am
How do they get the sharks to go in the cages?
#31 Sun, 05/17/2009 - 3:27pm
I heard good news from my friend that used to work for them years ago...
The Haleiwa shark tours is closing down due to undercovers going out on the tours and seeing them chum, and also because they have been doing business under the table and are having irs problems.... AWe ryte!!!
#32 Tue, 05/19/2009 - 12:13am
Glad to hear about the Haleiwa tours. This is a link to a different although related issue.
http://www.ocpaddler.com/node/5240
#33 Tue, 05/19/2009 - 12:39pm
Out here (Canada) we wouldn't throw out food on hiking trails to watch the bears and cougars eat. In fact habituated bears are shot and killed way too often from people simply leaving garbage out for too long on their yards.
A group of bears waiting to be fed only to be left for a few days (when the tours are not running) may get pretty upset and eat the next thing that came along which just may be the next hiker / mountain biker or jogger.....
Just my thoughts.......
#34 Tue, 05/19/2009 - 1:16pm