Bait and Kill vs Bait and View?

Did you know that right now it is legal to chum for sharks in Hawaiian waters – so long as you are doing it to kill them?  With all the buzz right now to ban shark “viewing” operations in Hawaii, I’m curious why no one is talking about banning shark “killing” operations?

Councilman Charles Djou has recently proposed Bill 67.   Bill 67 notes “sharks have great cultural, historical and spiritual significance for many Native Hawaiians.”  The bill also says that shark operators “may be disruptive of ocean ecology and the natural environment.”  With everyone in agreement that sharks are of great importance to the Hawaiian people, I’m wondering why there is no verbiage in this bill that talks about the actual killing of sharks in Hawaiian waters? 

Ever since this Bill came to fruition, I’ve been thoroughly confused on two of its main points.  How can the act of bringing tourists to view sharks be more disrespectful to the species than killing them?   And how are snorkelers more disruptive to the “ocean ecology and the natural environment” than fisherman and the long-lining industry?  

Many proponents of this Bill claim that chumming the waters offshore to view sharks will bring more of them in to the beaches where people surf and swim – even thought this belief has already been proven wrong, scientifically, by Dr Carl Meyer at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology.  Why aren’t those same people complaining about the fisherman chumming for sharks?  What is the difference?   I’ve chummed and filmed sharks all over the world and would gladly give that activity up for my profession if it meant that fisherman had too as well. 

Right now, worldwide, sharks are facing the fight of their lives.  Sharks should be respected not feared.  Recent statistics claim that an estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year.  That’s an average of three sharks killed every second of the day.  Sharks have been on this earth for over 400 million years and survived five planetary mass extinctions.  Clearly, they are meant to be here on this earth. 

The fishing value for sharks lies mostly in their fins.  Shark fins are a huge industry in Asia and are used foremost for shark fin soup.  The act of finning sharks is a disgusting practice whereas fishing vessels catch the animals, chop off their fins while still alive and throw the body overboard, causing the shark to suffer a gruesome death.   While it is illegal to harvest shark fins in Hawaiian waters – there are still businesses operating in Hawaii selling shark fins.  They claim that the fins are caught overseas and they simply process the fins in the state of Hawaii where they are then shipped on to Asia in mass quantities. Where is the respect for the Aumakua in this?

If Bill 67 is going to be voted on, it must have an inclusion making it illegal for fisherman to chum for sharks as well.

Right now, there is a worldwide spotlight on the state of Hawaii and how we will handle this issue.   Therefore, if it is indeed “disrespectful to the Aumakua” in Hawaii and “disruptive to the ocean ecology” to “view” sharks in their natural environment, let’s push our elected officials to be leaders and think twice about the senseless slaughter of one of the ocean’s greatest animals in our own backyard.  In honor of the greatest Aumakua, if we are to ban the “chum to view” activity – we must ban the “chum to kill” practice as well. 

Bryce Groark is a Big Island resident and owns Living Ocean Productions – an underwater imaging and production business that focuses on raising awareness for the marine environment.

Ban on Shark Diving in Hawaii Issue - Bill 67

Commentary written for Honolulu Advertiser October 11, 2009