When cute hurts
Proposed new rules would better protect charismatic spinner dolphins
IS ONE OF Hawaii's most charismatic creatures -- the spinner dolphin -- at risk of being "loved to death"? That question is at the root of public meetings this week on increased protections for the animals.
RESPECTING DOLPHINS
Guidelines for watching wild dolphins:
» Stay at least 50 yards from the animals.
» Don't chase, closely approach, surround, swim with or touch dolphins.
Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is charged with watching over marine mammals, recommends staying 50 yards away from dolphins.
But it's a recommendation with no enforcement teeth and the agency is considering rules that would prohibit boats and swimmers from entering areas where dolphins rest during the middle of the day, said Chris Yates, NOAA Fisheries Service assistant regional administrator for protected resources.
Tour companies regularly drop dozens of swimmers at a time into areas where dolphins are resting, particularly on Oahu's Leeward Coast and the Big Island's Kona Coast.
Over the past decade, the number of Leeward Oahu dolphin tours have quadrupled, said Tori Cullins, co-owner of Wild Side tours and founder of the Wild Dolphin Foundation.
Sometimes as many as 50 people from four or five boats are in the water, trying to "swim with" as few as a dozen dolphins, Cullins said.
Some of the more troubling human behavior has been boats herding dolphins toward snorkelers or pulling people through groups of dolphins on ropes, Yates said.
Part of the problem with people disturbing spinner dolphins is "they work the night shift," Yates said.
COURTESY OF PACIFIC ISLANDS FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER, NOAA FISHERIES
Meetings this week and next will help shape protections for spinner dolphins, which are being threatened by encroaching tour boats and swimmers.
|
|
Spinner dolphins feed at night in deep water and return to shallow, protected bays during the day, Yates said. There, they enter into a group synchronized swimming pattern that is their equivalent of sleep.
Yates said the easiest way to understand the problem is to imagine: "If tonight someone jumps into your bedroom and hits you for four hours with a water toy, your ability to function the next day would be impacted."
NOAA Fisheries' proposal is for "time-area" closures that would limit human presence in bays or areas where dolphins typically rest, during their normal rest period. Dolphin viewing could happen in the early morning or late afternoon hours when the dolphins are more active, Yates said.
Alternate ideas for providing greater protection for the dolphins include:
» Making the recommended 50-yard distance from dolphins a rule.
» Restricting people from approaching dolphins by swimming or by boat.
» Permanently closing dolphin resting areas to boat traffic.
Some swim-with-dolphin proponents have said dolphins are faster swimmers than humans and swim with people only when they "choose to," said Jeff Walters, co-manager of the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.
Some tour operators have told Walters that they "want the rules to be applied across the board."
They say, "If my competitor is putting people into water with dolphins, I have to do that," Walters said. "If you make everybody not do that," it would be fair, operators said.
Meetings this week and next will help shape the direction of a draft Environmental Impact Statement, Yates said. The draft would be available for public comment next summer before being finalized, he said.