To Our Readers

BY JOHN FLANAGAN

Sunday, June 3, 2001

Both fish and folk
need another marine
sanctuary

EXPECT a tsunami of protest to swell, break and inundate the new proposal to close Shark's Cove and Three Tables to fishing, limit fishing in Waimea Bay and expand the marine life conservation district on the North Shore.

That's what happened about a decade ago when a similar effort was mounted to develop a marine sanctuary in Waikiki.

Surfers, boaters, divers and tropical fish collectors overcame that attempt to protect the critters inhabiting the waters off the Waikiki Aquarium and Natatorium. No doubt there will be many self-interested parties fighting to maintain the status quo this time, too.

It's a pity, since so many people -- and fish -- can benefit from a well-managed sanctuary.

Like many of you, I had my first meaningful snorkeling experience in Hanauma Bay. Sure, I'd put on a mask and fins to paddle over a sandy bottom or a muddy river bed. But Hanauma meant swimming with turtles, swarms of tangs, Moorish Idols and parrot fish. It meant meeting eye to eye with my first moray eel.

That experience led to SCUBA certification and many other memorable underwater experiences -- even a trip to Palau to swim among its sharks, manta rays, clown fish and giant clams.

One dive I'll never forget was a drift down the coastline from the little cove next to the Blow Hole near Sandy Beach.

The current carried my dive buddy and me through a wasteland of lava rock strewn with lures, sinkers, fishing line and hooks. As far as we could see there were no fish, just a vast assortment of litter left behind from the effort to catch them.

This fished-out desolation was especially remarkable since Hanauma's amazing array of marine life was just a mile away.

Marine sanctuaries are more than underwater playgrounds for visitors. They preserve a piece of nature for all of us to appreciate, learn from and enjoy.

They are also breeding grounds for fish and other marine life that improve the chances of repopulating our depleted shorelines.

We need more marine sanctuaries to take the pressure from residents and visitors alike off Hanauma Bay. The Shark's Cove plan has that potential.

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John Flanagan is editor and publisher of the Star-Bulletin.
To reach him call 529-4748, fax to 529-4750, send
e-mail to publisher@starbulletin.com or write to
500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813.