Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
Kokua Line
Question: We went fishing at Camp Mokuleia recently. Friends who went diving during the day saw a big parachute sunk about six feet deep, close to the reef. Is anybody responsible for picking up something like that? We're concerned about other divers getting tangled in the parachute. Parachutes end up
in sea off MokuleiaAnswer: The parachute should have been picked up by now.
Chris Woolaway, an extension agent with the University of Hawaii's Sea Grant program, worked hard to try to resolve the problem, saying she also learned something in the effort. Sea Grant has a pilot Marine Bounty Program, which deals mainly with fishing nets floating out at sea.
However, Woolaway was intrigued when we called her about the parachute and did some digging. From staff at Camp Mokuleia, she learned that parachutes ending up in waters off Mokuleia are not uncommon because of skydiving in the area.
She learned from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources that individuals or companies are responsible for retrieving whatever gear ends up in the water, including parachutes.
In this case, Drop Zone, the company involved, was able to retrieve the parachute you reported, said a state official, who declined to be identified.
In the future, if you see any potentially hazardous material in the ocean, you can call the Marine Bounty Program, 956-2872, the Coast Guard, 541-2114, or the Department of Land and Natural Resources, 587-0077. Depending on what's involved and where, different agencies get involved, Woolaway said.
"There are a number of us who get calls about nets offshore or things in the water," she said. "We all try to help each other."
The problem is that there is no one central number that people can call to report sightings of marine debris or other matter.
Woolaway said she's trying to find funding to set up a central number -- "A number where people can call when they find weird things offshore or on the beach, things that people can't pick up on their own or shouldn't pick up on their own."
The Marine Bounty Program is targeted for Kaneohe Bay, but "we're trying to expand it outside of Kaneohe," Woolaway said.
People can call the program to report specific locations of nets offshore, so that someone can go out and pull them in.
"We really want to get to them when they're offshore and not attached to something ... before it hits the reef and does damage or gets caught in propellers or whatever. It happens all the time."
A lot of the work retrieving nets was done last summer, Woolaway said. "We had tons of net that was brought in, which is pretty amazing when you think about it," she said.
Kim Kommando lives!
A reader recently wondered if there was a radio talk show dealing with computers. Several readers told us about the programs on public radio. We've since learned that Kim Kommando, "The Digital Goddess," also hosts a national call-in show on computers: 7-10 p.m. Saturdays and 4-7 p.m. Sundays on KHVH 830 AM.
Mahalo
To whoever painted the colorful flowers on the sidewalk fronting Manoa School where previously one could see the "F" word and, for a short time, painted "shadows" on ironwood trees on school grounds. It is delightful to come across such a pretty reminder of our lovely colorful island during my three-mile walk every morning. -- Jean T. Grippin
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com