North Shore Hawaii - Commercial Shark Divers Charged?

Shark Industry Watch 8.19.2010

A federal undercover investigation uncovered alleged criminal activity at two of Oahu’s North Shore shark tour companies.Five shark tour employees have been charged with illegal shark feeding.

Law enforcement officers, who posed as visitors, posing as pretended to video tape their shark tour adventures but instead, they allegedly, caught tour operators red-handed.

Complete Story.

Rep Jon Riki Karamatsu - Conservationist!

NOT!

What a difference a few days can make. As it turns out Hawaii's historic vote on a complete ban on shark fins was unanimous and the critical vote of Rep.Jon Riki Karamatsu went for the bill instead of against it...

...and then in a stunning display of flip-floppery Riki Karamatsu turned against the bill he just voted for and tried to kill it.


For one brief moment we had thought that Riki Karamatsu had demonstrated real conservation leadership in Hawaii. We dreamed that Riki might be the kind of leader who would listen to all sides of an issue but when it comes to issues about the environment, animal cruelty, and unsustainable practices Mr.Karamatsu understands and acts.

Sadly he's just a hack politico who will waver and waffle when important bills are in play pandering to whoever he can to get a vote or two.


DO NOT VOTE for this man and is race for the Lieutenant Governors seat in Hawaii.When the chips are down, Karamatsu is a poor choice for the oceans, the environment and Hawaii.

Complete story here.

Hawaii - Karyn Herrmann Shark Conservation

Another in a long string of well thought and researched articles about Hawaii's current conservation track record and the the problems with politicians who only see $$$ when it comes to the environment.

Case in point Rep. Jon Riki Karamatsu
who is currently attempting to kill new legislation that would ban shark finning, transshipment, and sales in Hawaii.

Karyn Herrmann:

Currently about 175 countries have signed an environmental treaty to halt shark finning. Will Hawaii really allow an entire marine species to be wiped out forever just to satisfy the palate of a so called "cultural tradition" or the mana of a mythological "deity"?

The only explanation that can be drawn from these most recent events in the Hawaii Senate is that the hidden, money-driven, black market of the Honolulu distributors has paid off both the advocates and the opponents of the bill. Clearly, shark finning is a multimillion-, possibly billion-dollar business in Hawaii, legal or not. When you have so many vocal entities opposing a ban that is supported globally, one must question if the entire process within the Hawaii Senate is riddled with corruption.

Support for Hawaii shark-fin ban grows, but will it be enough?

More reporting on Hawaii's close but not quite decided Senate Bill 2169. A bill that would ban shark fin sales in Hawaii setting a precedent around the world.

Who is holding this bill up and what can you do about it?

Rep Riki Karamatsu, for reasons that remain his own, reasons that run contrary to environmentalists and even the vast majority of politicians in Hawaii who would like to see this done.

Hawaii is poised to show real leadership around the world for it's oceans and the health of our planet, that is unless one man with a dark agenda beats everyone to the gate.

Complete story by Peter Thomas.

Hawaii Shark Diving - Shark Diving Bill "Thrown Out"

This mornings text message from Hawaii:

"FYI, The bill (banning commercial shark diving in Oahu) was thrown out and deferred to state."

Proving that Hawaii City Council members are not the same as those in Maui, Council members decided, after receiving an unprecedented amount of interest in the form of letters, emails, Op-Eds, and phone calls about commercial shark diving on Oahu to kill the issue before them and "punt it" back up to the state level and Rep Gene Wards office.

To refresh your memory the ongoing saga over the fate of commercial shark diving looks like this, dates are approximate:

1. March-2009 Rogue commercial shark diving operation decides to open cage diving operations Hawaii Kai neighbourhood and kicks off a political brush fire.

2. April-2009 Incorrectly sensing a political gain, Rep Gene Ward uses this regional back lash to propose legislation to prohibit all shark diving in Hawaii.

3. April-2009 Several dubious and linked anti-shark diving websites spring up with loose ties to Cyber Diver Network, and Rep Gene Wards office.

4. May-2009 Long term U of H shark study by Carl Meyer et al shows sharks that are being interacted with 3 miles off shore are not habituating to vessels and following them back into shore as was charged by Rep Wards "Shark Taskforce." Wards office decides to ignore and discredit the study as bogus science, stirring up further controversy.

4. August-2009 Meetings are held with the commercial operators and Rep Gene Ward, pressure in the form of pro-shark diving business owners call Wards office, the theme of "it's the economy stupid" resonates.

5. August-2009 Maui City Council members watching Rep Gene Wards grandstanding, decide to ban shark diving. Shark diving that does not exists on Maui at this time. As one person states "they might as well ban time travel as well."

6. September-2009 Maui's bill passes.

7. September-2009 Rep Gene Ward, sensing a hard political fight over the commercial shark diving issue, punts local issue of banning cage diving on Oahu down to Oahu City Council members.

8. September-2009 Oahu City Council members propose bill, receive sharp backlash from community, they quickly realize this is a "no win" bill on many levels.

9. October-2009 Oahu City Council members throw bill out and refer the entire issue of commercial shark diving and the fate of 40,000 seasonal shark diving tourists back to the state.

10. October-2009 Saga continues.

Hawaii Sharks Are Sacred - Unless You Kill Them

Quote of the month from a politician on Maui:

"Councilwoman Jo Anne Johnson says the bill is a sign of respect for Native Hawaiians who consider sharks to be sacred."

-Maui council OKs shark-tour ban

Far too many politicians in Hawaii have jumped on a recent fear based anti-shark diving campaign and begun regurgitating spoon fed and completely inane talking points to whoever will listen. Revealing in the process how little they understand what goes on in the waters of Hawaii.

Councilwoman Jo Anne Johnson is a classic example of this.

Meanwhile the commercial shark diving industry on Oahu and around the world is acutely aware of a loop hole that allows hundreds of thousands of sharks fin to be landed in Hawaii, dried and processed in Hawaii, and then shipped out of Hawaii to waiting consumers in Asia.

In most cases these "fresh overseas fins" are in fact taken just outside Hawaiian waters. In some cases within Hawaiian waters.

Hawaii sharks are sacred to Hawaiians according to the councilwoman - unless you want to capture them, cut the fins off live animals and then dump them into the pristine waters surrounding Hawaii.

That's called business.

Let's stop the outright hypocrisy. Sharks tourism is good for Hawaii, it does not cause shark attacks, and banning shark tourism is both shortsighted and harmful to the Hawaii's broader economy.

That is unless you happen to be in the shark fin business. The loopholes in that business are making a few non native residents a killing these days...for as long as the sharks last that is.