Question: I read an old Hawaiian tale about a chief on Oahu making peace with the shark god in which the shark god promises to not kill anyone on the south shore of Oahu. When I think about it, I can't remember a time where there was a death on the south shore of Oahu from a shark attack. I know of fatal attacks on other parts of the island (east and north side). But none on the south side. I asked the oldest people I know and all can't remember any. This to me is interesting because of the number of people who surf, swim and fish on the south shore. Not to mention all the commercial fishing boats that come in Honolulu Harbor. Surely there must be some record of such. Can you tell me if there are any records of fatal shark attacks on the south shore of Oahu?

Answer: One of the best resources for finding out about sharks - and shark attacks - in Hawaii is the Web site hawaiisharks.com, maintained by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources' Division of Aquatic Resources.

There are no reports or records of fatal shark attacks along Oahu's south shore for more than 50 years, according to Randy Honebrink, education coordinator for the Division of Aquatic Resources.

Before that, there were three incidents in which sharks appeared to be involved in fatalities along the south shore.

The first occurred in 1902 in the area of Honolulu Harbor, before Sand Island was built.

The exact location is not clear, Honebrink said, but the story is that a young man was crabbing, when he was pulled under water by a shark, which then bit off both of his arms.

Honebrink said he is unsure how reliable that information is because the death was first noted in a newspaper story in 1953, 51 years later.

He also said it is not certain whether sharks were responsible for the deaths of two men in the 1950s.

One happened on Aug. 3, 1952, off Ala Moana. A man dove off a dredge into heavy surf at the Waikiki end of Ala Moana Park, probably where Magic Island now sits. No one saw him after that. The next day, his body was found at the other end of Ala Moana, with bites to the right thigh and left calf.

The autopsy could not establish whether the victim was killed by a shark or had drowned before he was attacked.

The other incident occurred on April 8, 1954, off Wailupe Peninsula. A man was fishing on the seaward side of the channel there when he was washed into the water. Several days later, part of his body was found.

Again, it wasn't certain whether he was killed by a shark or drowned first.

Those three are the only reported fatalities involving sharks along the south shore and, again, “;only the 1902 fatality is obviously clearly a shark-caused fatality,”; Honebrink said.

On the hawaiisharks.com Web site, there are maps of the Hawaiian Islands showing incidents of shark attacks dating back to 1900. See http://hawaiisharks.com/encounters.html.

Currently, for Oahu, there are 28 non-fatal shark attacks and eight fatal ones noted by location.

Honebrink said he did include one of the two uncertain south shore incidents as a fatality, but isn't sure whether he will include both or not include either when he updates the maps.

Down the line, he hopes to have information about each shark incident available by just clicking on the location.

The Web site also has a wealth of information about sharks, including their role in Hawaiian culture, descriptions of the 40 or so species of sharks in Hawaiian waters and advice on “;living safely”; with the underwater creatures.

Iolani Palace's Pueo

Cameron Spangler couldn't believe it when he saw the Oct. 2 Kokua Line about a Hawaiian short-eared owl - a pueo - living on the grounds of Iolani Palace. He had just snapped a photo of the owl, which is considered sacred by many Hawaiians and listed by the state as endangered on Oahu.

“;It was a completely random encounter,”; he said. He said he was “;just walking by and it happened to be sitting there on the tree stump.”;

State wildlife and forestry officials said the owl appears in good health and ask that people respect and leave it alone. Watch it from a distance and do not feed or disturb it.