KAILUA-KONA — A bill that would protect sharks and expand protections to all rays within state waters is cruising through the Legislature.
Senate Bill 2079, co-introduced by Sens. Mike Gabbard, D-Oahu, and Russell Ruderman, D-Puna, and four co-sponsors, seeks to protect all sharks and rays for ecological purposes and their value to Native Hawaiian cultural practices and the ocean recreation industry.
“I’m all for it,” said Capt. Shawn Rotella of Nightrunner Sportfishing in Kailua-Kona. “You need sharks — they are the white blood cells of the ocean, they clean out all the diseased, sick and wounded (fish). They are one of the most important parts of the ocean ecosystem.”
The measure passed its third reading in the state Senate and was sent to the House for further consideration. The House had yet to hear the bill’s first reading as of Wednesday. If passed after reading, SB 2079 will be referred to committees as it makes its way through legislative process.
The bill says protection is needed for sharks because as ocean predators near the top of the food chain, the cartilaginous fish keep the ecosystem balanced, regulate populations of other marine life, and ensure healthy fish stock and reefs.
“In 2010, the state banned the taking of shark fins. However, we didn’t actually ban the capture or killing of whole sharks. This bill is needed because sharks are the top predator in the ocean food chain and their numbers are declining. We’ve heard about cases of cruelty involving sharks in our islands, which DLNR says have been difficult to prosecute with our existing law,” said Gabbard. “It makes sense for Hawaii to be a leader in marine species protection and this is another way we can do that.”
It notes safeguards are necessary for rays and sharks as they are “more vulnerable than most other fish species” because they are long-living, slow-growing and begin reproducing at an advanced age and produce relatively few offspring annually.
“Sharks and rays on the reefs not only play important ecological roles, but are also valued figures in Hawaiian culture and are important economically to ocean recreation industries and to tourism in Hawaii. The benefits of maintaining a viable population greatly outweigh any value that would be gained by killing these species,” the measure reads.
Rotella and other fisherman contacted Wednesday said they felt positive about the proposed legislation and didn’t expect negative impacts to tourism and the commercial fishing industry from a ban on taking sharks. Rotella pointed to local traditions of respecting the shark, or mano, and there not being much drive in Kona for sport fishing of sharks or a market for the two major edible shark species found in Hawaiian waters, the thresher and mako.
“As far as I know, it’s not something that’s going to affect the tourism and commercial industry,” he said.
In its current form, the bill would establish fines for “knowingly capturing, taking, possessing, abusing, or entangling a shark, whether alive or dead, within state marine waters.”
Violating the law would be a misdemeanor offense with fines ranging from $500 to $10,000 and an administrative fine up to $10,000 per shark.
