The current issue involving complaints by vendors of "overzealous" management of Hanauma Bay seems ludicrous in terms of the attendance history of this precious seashore site and the commendable diligence of manager Alan Hong. Delicate Hanauma
demands zealous managementCritics of bay manager need
to consider Hanauma historyRecently, I talked with a retired teacher who remembers going to this precious seashore site with her sister on Sunday afternoons 50 years ago, when they finished with work on their nearby farm. She said sometimes they were the only two people at Hanauma Bay. You can hear similar stories from other kamaaina.
Star-Bulletin file photo
Sun bathers and snorkelers dot the beach and water at
Hanauma Bay. The city Parks Department and a separate
city team are investigating complaints that management of
the bay is too strict. The complaints from bus service and
scuba vendors are directed at Hanauma manager Alan Hong,
whose management style has been criticized as too "controlling."
When Kaiser High School near Hanauma Bay opened in 1971, I was the first teacher to work there (by also being the registrar). The attendance at Hanauma Bay then was only about 300 daily, still not too crowded for school field trips.It was marvelous that our classes could walk over to this lovely seashore site for marine science lessons. We considered the proper use of Hanauma Bay to be part of our community responsibility to help keep Hawaii natural.
A school service club I advised that first year, more than 25 years ago, volunteered to clean up the beach. We were astounded at the great number of cigarette butts that appeared in the debris.
As years passed, the increase of contaminating tobacco smoke became obvious. The daily attendance there now is 3,000 -- too crowded for large field trips by schools. This contamination would be greater if not for diligent management practices.
This outstanding service club, actually run by Joanne Aoki and other students, simultaneously ran a unique "Aloha Smoking and Health" program. The teens visited elementary schools with tobacco poison experiments and other hands-on activities to help children discover for themselves that tobacco use is dangerous.
Importantly, it was the friendliness of our older students as leaders in following health rules which had the most influential effect for our program.
Similarly, it is vendors at Hanauma Bay and others benefiting from our tourist industry who should be helping people have a great natural experience, and they too must set a good example on following the rules.
Never should a Hanauma Bay staff member need to tell a vendor to put out a cigarette or cigar to avoid contamination. A vendor always should be ready to cooperatively and cordially produce a permit upon request by a staff member to help avoid overcrowding.
Regarding the protection of marvelous Hanauma Bay, you cannot be "overzealous" enough.
A diligent civil servant like Hong should receive great support from all of us for being highly dedicated in his job. He should not be unjustly criticized for doing his job well.
Edward Arrigoni is an author and teacher
who lives in East Oahu. The opinions expressed in
View Point columns are the authors' and are not
necessarily shared by the Star-Bulletin.
