By Terry Lilley – Notice all the shark attacks lately off the island of Maui?
I know why they are happening. I have been buzzed by 18-foot hammer heads, Galapagos sharks, aggressive sand bar sharks and tiger sharks all within the last year while spear fishing or kayak fishing.
Just ask the dive shop owners. The increase in spear fishing has more than tripled in the last few years. It has become very popular and the sharks know it.
The sharks are learning to follow spear fishermen and kayak fishermen to get a free meal. I have had many fish taken by these sharks right off the end of my spear, including an attempt on Thanksgiving day.
We fishermen should rotate where we spear fish. If you go out at the same places every time, the sharks will wait for humans to catch their food for them. They look at a kayak or spear gun as a source for food.
I do not spear fish at Tunnels off Kauai any longer because the one 10-foot female Galapagos follows me around like a puppy waiting for me to spear a fish and then she steals it. If my arm is in the way, I would be bit.
In old Hawaiian times, fishermen rotated where they fished so the sharks would not be trained by the people as to where they are going to find dinner.
The sharks never try to harm humans and I have made friends with a number of large sharks that I dive with and video. They are just doing what sharks should do. Eat wounded fish. Killing the sharks would be stupid and would ruin our marine ecosystem.
If you feed the neighborhood dogs free steaks everyday at the park, you better believe the dogs will be there waiting for you. They will soon jump right in your car window to get food.
We need to rotate where we fish like the Hawaiians have done for thousands of years.
What about;
Billions more humans eating everything sharks feed on + More sharks hungry x tourists stupidity = MORE sharks biting humans?
i wish Petco would stop stealing Hawaii's fish. What if it is caused from the huge dent in the food chain? We need laws to stop corporations from helping themselves to Hawaii's natural resources.
Petco or other pet stores buy fish from local fishermen who earn their honest living with their skills and hard work. I would not call it steal. Majority of the juvenile fishes caught if left in the ocean will be just prey items for bigger fishes.
Stop spear fishing so tourists from afar won't get eaten on an expensive trip! 10,00 miles for a potential shark bite or worse is becoming a poor option. There are plenty of other fantastic things to do around the Hawaiian Islands
Its ignorant and arrogant to tell people to stop providing for themselves off of the resources in Hawaii for the sake of tourists. Look at the statistics, there are many, many more threats to tourists livelihood than sharks. An average of 60 people drown each year in Hawaii. If you cant hang, don't get in our waters!
Please reread. It doesn't say stop spearfishing, it says rotate areas where fish are taken from.
I've noticed an excessive increase in turtles around Maui too. Not saying that's what's causing the problem, but it's something to look into and perform a study.
What does excessive increase in turtles mean?
You are so right about the increase of turtles. Born and raised on Maui, I was brought up eating turtle meat for survival, along with many other people here on Maui. Turtles are coming closer to shore along with the sharks. When we were allowed to eat turtle meat, there were less shark attacks.
Good theory but far from true buddy. Nobody goes spearfishing where these sharks are biting people so this theory does not apply to these shark scenarios.
Put a question mark after the title of your story. It's your opinion founded on very limited perspective. If you were a marine Biologist and had a team doing some research then turned up this report I might believe some of the aspects of your findings. Now due to the fact that I too seek being in the water off Hawaii at least three days a week for spearfishing and surfing I know that these hungry predators are searching for food sources, but I do believe there is far more at play here besides the spearfishing thats been going on in the Islands for years. Influx of tourists and malahini that are not aware of there surroundings, over fishing, climate change and Radiation could have huge effect on shark activity here regionally. Great shots by the way. Aloha. lrs
Check out the author's bio on this link: https://hawaii-reef.com/terry-lille/ His perspective may not be all that limited.
He received a Bachelors in Biology more than 30 years ago. However I see no indication that he has any academic training in Marine Biology, or conducted any research on Sharks in Hawaii. A scientist should know better than to publish unfounded claims with no scientific data. I agree, his opinion is based on limited perspective, and pointing fingers without any fact.
Right! Let's wait for an expensive, lengthy study to tell us what we already know is pono and just plain common sense.
Radiation??? Linked to shark attacks????……speaking of "credible" sources…..
Who said anything about radiation? Comment was indicating that good stewardship practices should take precedence over waiting for expensive, lengthy studies to dictate what is already common sense.
Of course it is a multifaceted problem but I do believe he has a very valid point. I recently went to EPCOT center and snorkeled in the aquarium of the Living Seas. This is a highly sophisticated research center as well as entertainment center. I snorkeled next to Tiger Sharks, and Black Tip and White Tip Reef Sharks who were curious but not aggressive at all even though they are completely dependent on humans for food. They explained that they go to great lengths to make sure that the sharks do not associate food with humans. They feed them only at night and the divers who bring their food are camouflaged in a shroud-like apparatus and the food is dispensed at a length from the divers and only after the sharks have pressed a target. It stands to reason that sharks would associate the fishermen with easy food. It makes sense that the ancient Hawaiians were fewer in number and did practice good ecology of changing locations. They also didn't have the numbers of people in the water that exist now that are not practicing common sense safety in the wilderness of the ocean. We are in THEIR backyard, not us in theirs. The diminishing reefs are also causing a dent in the food chain. I would venture a guess that the frenzy of Shark Week and all the stupid antics that people are doing in that regard may have initiated a sort of collective consciousness in the shark world that makes the sharks less elusive and more aggressive. At any rate, a shish kabob meal to a hungry shark sounds like a reasonable explanation. A return to a more mindful approach to the ocean seems like a good idea. A little Ho'oponopono wouldn't hurt either. Aloha Mahalo Aloha
I didn't know that traditional Hawaiian fishing and ecological knowledge held any less weight than that of a marine biologist. We refer to makaʻāinana testimony in court all the time for civil matters in environmental law. So yah, these traditional practices of rotating the fishing areas and being Pono when you fish are legitimate.
No matter how informative or sincere any article written on the internet is, there is always someone like you who just has to nit pick. The world needs more people who want to try to solve problems like the writer of this very informative article. Complainers like you just slow down the resolution process. From now on, save your English lessons for your kids and jump on the band wagon with the rest of us that truly care about the environment. It doesn’t matter how you spell environmental protection, it just matters that we all do it together as a team without bickering and in-fighting.
I've spent a lifetime in the healing waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands and I applaud the author for sharing his thoughts with us. So many people are so quick to dismiss and put down opinions of others. I though this persons theory is sound and worthy of study. Lets all try to be more open to opinion and let everyone know that we are willing listen. If every time someone tries to help, they are humiliated, then pretty soon no one will want to speak out anymore. Let's hope that the person(s) who may have a solution or proper course of action is not intimidated by all of the negative responses and keeps their valuable information to themselves.
FYI @pacificwingcgun This author Terry Lilley is a marine biologist here on Kauai and he has a team that researches all over Kauai and other islands including waters around Niihau. This guy spends most of his time under water researching out coral and reef ecosystem. I know this because I helped out on a couple of his reef surveys. So yeah, I think this guy knows what he's talking about. I'm not saying fishermen are the only problem, there's other factors that can be adding. Like the time of the attacks. Few of the were before sunset, some in murky/turbid waters. Peak times for shark activities. But with limited information it's hard to pin point the exact reason for shark attacks.
Terry Lilley is NOT a Marine Biologist. He makes this claim and is strait up lies. He's a diver with a degree in Biology, he throws his opinion around and is not helpful the the science community or Kauai people. He is a nescience and spreads misleading incorrect information.
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