HANALEI — Hanalei Bay was reopened yesterday to swimmers after a pack of sharks apparently left the bay. The beaches had been closed between Saturday and Monday after up to five tiger sharks and an unknown number of smaller sharks
HANALEI — Hanalei Bay was reopened yesterday to swimmers after a pack of
sharks apparently left the bay.
The beaches had been closed between
Saturday and Monday after up to five tiger sharks and an unknown number of
smaller sharks were seen swimming not far from shore.
Residents blamed the
presence of the sharks on akule that had been caught in a net by a commercial
fishing boat that operated in the bay.
Fifteen complaints were lodged with
state wildlife biologist Don Heacock; other complaints were filed with Gov. Ben
Cayetano’s office on O’ahu.
They complained it is the second year in a row
that fishing activities have attracted sharks to the bay, and wanted government
officials to order the boat to move to other areas.
The sharks, which
ranged from 8 to 12 feet, were seen within 5 to 10 feet of the shoreline.
Vaughan Tyndzik, Kaua’i Boating Division district manager, said his division
has no jurisdiction over the routes taken by commercial fishing boats.
His
division, Tyndzik said, sets the number of passengers allowed on commercial
fishing and sailing boats on ocean outings.
Partly because of the shark
sighting incident in Hanalei, some North Shore residents have voiced concerns
about the need for better fisheries conservation regulations for Hanalei Bay
and the North Shore, Heacock said.
One option would be to create a
“shoreline fishery management area” in Hanalei Bay and in nearby areas, which
the state Department of Land and Natural Resources could manage, Heacock
said.
The state agency can work closely with the community to develop this
special zone to help preserve fisheries, Heacock said.
Such a zone was
created in waters off Kailua-Kona on the Big Island after fishery conservation
issues came up, Heacock said.
Heacock said amending state fishery
conservation rules offers another way to protect akule fisheries on
Kaua’i.
Under the current law, fishermen can store akule in “bag nets,”
which can be kept in the water indefinitely, Heacock said.
The law should
be changed so that the bag net can be kept in the water no more than 24 hours
at a time, Heacock said.
By doing so, there will be less chance of
attracting sharks to an area like Hanalei Bay, Heacock said.
“Here is an
opportunity for the fishing community and the State of Hawai’i to work together
to adopt better conservation regulations,” Heacock said. “We should move on
this.”
If the state, Heacock said, is to help protect fish resources in
Hanalei Bay, it should follow the fishing methods used by ancient
Hawaiians.
Hawaiians took only what they needed and put akule back into
the ocean to ensure the akule population stayed strong, he said.
