SAVE SOUTH KONA BAYS! Proposed Time-Area Closures for Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins.
We all enjoy swimming and freediving on the South Coast of Hawaii. NOAA is trying to pass a law that will restrict swimming/diving from 6am-3pm in many of these main areas. These closures drastically impact usage of Honaunau, Kealekekua, Hookena and north of OTEC. This proposal runs counter to the Hawaiian state law that states you can not restrict access to the ocean. In addition, north island resort bays are not being closed including Kailua Bay and the green buoy just outside Honokohau harbor. The spinner dolphins rest there as well. So these resort areas may remain open to tourists, but they will destroy our shore access to all of our South Kona bays. Our Freediving areas will be decimated and unaccessible in these proposed restricted areas. This must be stopped. We only have until Dec 27th, 2021 to submit comments and signatures. If we don't fight, swimming/freediving in our beloved bays will be destroyed forever! There are better ways to go about sharing the bays with the spinner dolphins. Educating visitors is one of them. Please sign, comment and circulate this to everyone that comes to mind. Again, they are NOT trying to close or discontinue shore or boat access areas where dolphins are present and most tourists frequent. We are trying to get all comments/signatures in by the first week of December. Mahalo for your support!
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
November 26, 2021
42 Comments
Please keep the bays open to swimmers, freedivers, scuba divers, and tourists. Consequences of restricting most of the bay, in my opinion, are that there will be more sharks in the bay and more injuries to tourists who go elsewhere to swim where it's not as easily accessible or calm. Instead focus attention on education; i.e. in flight videos, volunteers, and signage at bays.
If you just enforce the existing laws there’s no need for this. Freedivers aren’t harassing dolphins. Tour boats chasing after them and dropping a load of tourists in the water is a problem. Feel free to address that but, leave the locals be.
Locals have enjoyed these bays/ocean access for centuries, closing access, even for wildlife is completely AGAINST what Hawai'i culture of coexistence is all about. We can respect the wildlife without having to make these drastic changes, which would be illegal anyway! There is no such thing as a "private beach" in Hawai'i, so there can be no "restricted access" allowed.
Please do not shut down the bays. There are far more important issues at hand. And much better ways to educate the public on how to behave with ocean animals . Enforcing this is essentially just hoping to move all the tourism towards the hotels area.
We have been coming to Kona for over 13 years specifically to dive and swim in these waters. We come for the clarity and the depth not the dolphins. We support small businesses while we’re there since we operate one on kauai. This would be a total loss.
I agree that a stop must be made to the practice of dropping boats of tourists from the hotels into the bays without properly educating them about the dolphins and the fragile coral. I DO NOT agree that the bays be closed off to all access into the water from 8am to 3pm. There are plenty of visitors and locals who swim and free dive in the bays and do so without aggravating or disrespecting the dolphins or other wildlife inhabiting that area. I have been coming to the Big Island since 2002 to swim in the bays (Hookena, Honaunau and Kealekakua Bays) for my overall well-being. My husband and I don't go to the commercial part of the island due to the heavy tourism. I can't imagine not being able to swim in those bays at all. Please re-think the way this closure is being structured. It is not dealing with the real issue which is the impact of increased tourism and social media marketing without proper education about the environmental impact and proper interaction and use of the bays. Thank you for your consideration!
I agree with Gerard, there are better ways to go about sharing the bays with the spinner dolphins. Educating visitors is one of them. Rachel Wolff
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SAVE SOUTH KONA BAYS! Proposed Time-Area Closures for Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins.
We all enjoy swimming and freediving on the South Coast of Hawaii. NOAA is trying to pass a law that will restrict swimming/diving from 6am-3pm in many of these main areas. These closures drastically impact usage of Honaunau, Kealekekua, Hookena and north of OTEC. This proposal runs counter to the Hawaiian state law that states you can not restrict access to the ocean. In addition, north island resort bays are not being closed including Kailua Bay and the green buoy just outside Honokohau harbor. The spinner dolphins rest there as well. So these resort areas may remain open to tourists, but they will destroy our shore access to all of our South Kona bays. Our Freediving areas will be decimated and unaccessible in these proposed restricted areas. This must be stopped. We only have until Dec 27th, 2021 to submit comments and signatures. If we don't fight, swimming/freediving in our beloved bays will be destroyed forever! There are better ways to go about sharing the bays with the spinner dolphins. Educating visitors is one of them. Please sign, comment and circulate this to everyone that comes to mind. Again, they are NOT trying to close or discontinue shore or boat access areas where dolphins are present and most tourists frequent. We are trying to get all comments/signatures in by the first week of December. Mahalo for your support!
Updates
Reached 100 supporters
November 26, 2021
42 Comments
this is a very poorly thought out plan and the studies cited by noa are pretty shakey, it would severly impact all accessable bays in south kona and basically kill honaunau bay as being a mecca of freediving by cutting off access to the dive moorings
Please keep the bays open to swimmers, freedivers, scuba divers, and tourists. Consequences of restricting most of the bay, in my opinion, are that there will be more sharks in the bay and more injuries to tourists who go elsewhere to swim where it's not as easily accessible or calm. Instead focus attention on education; i.e. in flight videos, volunteers, and signage at bays.
If you just enforce the existing laws there’s no need for this. Freedivers aren’t harassing dolphins. Tour boats chasing after them and dropping a load of tourists in the water is a problem. Feel free to address that but, leave the locals be.
Locals have enjoyed these bays/ocean access for centuries, closing access, even for wildlife is completely AGAINST what Hawai'i culture of coexistence is all about. We can respect the wildlife without having to make these drastic changes, which would be illegal anyway! There is no such thing as a "private beach" in Hawai'i, so there can be no "restricted access" allowed.
Please do not shut down the bays. There are far more important issues at hand. And much better ways to educate the public on how to behave with ocean animals . Enforcing this is essentially just hoping to move all the tourism towards the hotels area.
We have been coming to Kona for over 13 years specifically to dive and swim in these waters. We come for the clarity and the depth not the dolphins. We support small businesses while we’re there since we operate one on kauai. This would be a total loss.
I agree that a stop must be made to the practice of dropping boats of tourists from the hotels into the bays without properly educating them about the dolphins and the fragile coral. I DO NOT agree that the bays be closed off to all access into the water from 8am to 3pm. There are plenty of visitors and locals who swim and free dive in the bays and do so without aggravating or disrespecting the dolphins or other wildlife inhabiting that area. I have been coming to the Big Island since 2002 to swim in the bays (Hookena, Honaunau and Kealekakua Bays) for my overall well-being. My husband and I don't go to the commercial part of the island due to the heavy tourism. I can't imagine not being able to swim in those bays at all. Please re-think the way this closure is being structured. It is not dealing with the real issue which is the impact of increased tourism and social media marketing without proper education about the environmental impact and proper interaction and use of the bays. Thank you for your consideration!
I agree with Gerard, there are better ways to go about sharing the bays with the spinner dolphins. Educating visitors is one of them. Rachel Wolff
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this is a very poorly thought out plan and the studies cited by noa are pretty shakey, it would severly impact all accessable bays in south kona and basically kill honaunau bay as being a mecca of freediving by cutting off access to the dive moorings