Photo courtesy Pacific Whale Foundation
A wild spinner dolphin springs above waters off Maui.
Marine Fisheries
By Gary T. Kubota
probes reports of
people disturbing
Maui’s dolphins
Star-BulletinWAILUKU -- Some Maui residents are worried the growing interest in swimming with wild spinner dolphins is upsetting their habitat and violating federal marine mammal protection laws.
The National Marine Fisheries Service has confirmed that an investigation is taking place about people approaching spinner dolphins at La Perouse Bay in south Maui.
Victor Honda, a federal enforcement official, says no charges have been filed, but there is an "ongoing investigation."
Marine observers say the dolphins rest in near-shore waters of the bay during the day and hunt at night in the open ocean.
"A lot of people don't realize that's their resting habitat and they may be disturbing their rest," said Hannah Bernard, the education director for the Hawaii Wildlife Fund.
Maui resident Pamela Meyer says at least one business is promoting tours to swim with the dolphins, billed as part of a mystical experience.
"It's kind of a New Age thing -- what people feel lacking in their lives," she said. "I don't think people are intentionally going down there with harassment on their mind.
"They come out of the water and say, 'Gee, I had a great time. The dolphins led me everywhere.'"
Meyer, who is working with an ad hoc group called "Dolphin Watch," said she's afraid the visits by humans are disturbing the dolphins' sleep patterns and she feels people are getting too close to the marine mammals.
Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, no one is allowed to kill or hurt dolphins in U.S. jurisdiction, or upset feeding and breeding patterns.
National Marine Fisheries official Eugene Nitta says people need to be reminded that dolphins are wild animals and can be dangerous.
He said people distracting dolphins guarding a herd can unintentionally create a dangerous situation by allowing predators such as sharks to prey more easily on resting dolphins.
"Our advice would be to leave them alone in the bays," said Nitta, the protected species program manager in Hawaii.
"Obviously, if they don't get enough rest, they're not going to be as fit."
Federal law forbids people from approaching within 100 yards of a humpback whale, but there is no stand-off distance for dolphins.
Nitta said it would be difficult to establish a stand-off distance for dolphins because sometimes they choose to swim with boats and people.
Meyer said she never saw people in 1993 swimming with dolphins at La Perouse Bay.
"Now there's lots of people in the water," she said. "I've seen people within a body length of the dolphins quite often."
Spinner dolphins, 5 to 7 feet long and weighing between 120 and 165 pounds, usually travel in groups of 10 to 30.
They can sometimes be seen using their pectoral and dorsal fins to twirl in the air above the water.
Federal officials say although several theories have been put forth, no one knows for certain why they spin.
Meyer said her group has been developing a brochure to educate people about the reasons spinner dolphins are in the bays during the day, and about federal laws protecting dolphins.
Meyer said the herd sometimes totals 10 to 20 dolphins, but can number as many as 200.
