Heads up if doing Kona in the next little bit... the manta dive is hopping.
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As for shark activity on the manta dive - I have several hundred dives at the manta night dive both as a captain and a dive guide, and to the best of my knowledge, sharks (other than rays) have never come into the dive site on the manta dive. Other times of the day are a completely different story. There have been times where a monk seal has shown up as well as Hawaiian sting rays too.
Are there sharks in the area? I answer that question on the boat with this bit of sarcasm -- "you test for sharks by sticking your finger in the water for 6 seconds then remove your finger from the water and stick it in your mouth, if it tastes salty then there are sharks in the water". Also, Manta Rays are sharks.
From what I have been hearing, (I'm no scientist), the increase of shark activity off shore of Kona has much more to do with changing ocean currents, increased whale activity, and ocean temperature, rather than the fish farm. I did not say instead of the fish farm. Rarely, if ever, is one factor solely responsible for change. One could also conclude that an increase of shark activity could be directly or indirectly related to more game fish being caught, exhausted, then released, rather than killed and sold. There is no scientific data to back that claim either.
As you can tell by my response, this is a hot topic in Kona.
Is the fish farm responsible for the high number of mantas showing up lately? I doubt that too. Mantas come for the zooplankton, and zooplankton do not feed on the food used by the fish farm. As one of the dive guides that I work with says, "this is a dinner theater, the mantas are here for the dinner and we get the theater".
See you there every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, nights.
Are there sharks in the area? I answer that question on the boat with this bit of sarcasm -- "you test for sharks by sticking your finger in the water for 6 seconds then remove your finger from the water and stick it in your mouth, if it tastes salty then there are sharks in the water". Also, Manta Rays are sharks.
From what I have been hearing, (I'm no scientist), the increase of shark activity off shore of Kona has much more to do with changing ocean currents, increased whale activity, and ocean temperature, rather than the fish farm. I did not say instead of the fish farm. Rarely, if ever, is one factor solely responsible for change. One could also conclude that an increase of shark activity could be directly or indirectly related to more game fish being caught, exhausted, then released, rather than killed and sold. There is no scientific data to back that claim either.
As you can tell by my response, this is a hot topic in Kona.
Is the fish farm responsible for the high number of mantas showing up lately? I doubt that too. Mantas come for the zooplankton, and zooplankton do not feed on the food used by the fish farm. As one of the dive guides that I work with says, "this is a dinner theater, the mantas are here for the dinner and we get the theater".
See you there every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday, nights.
sea nmf
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I've done the Manta dive twice (is it still in front of the Kona Surf or has it moved?). Once I saw a small shark, but that was after all the rest of the divers/snorkelers were onboard the boat. Just a DM & I were left (lots of air left).
www.scubamazing.com
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How far off shore is the fish farm?
To sea nmf - The Kona Surf has a "manta dive" but the numbers are typically small. The airport site has been the more consistant site since the fall of '99, however the Kona Surf site has consistantly had 1-3 mantas since last summer. The airport site is where the big numbers show up, but it can go in streaks. Currently this is the one to do.
To Scubamazing- the fish farm is only a few hundred yards off shore. It's right of the westernmost tip of the island. I believe they chose the location because the prevailing currents generally head out to open ocean at the site.
On the sharks... the same guys I've heard making the most noise about the 2 or 3 tiger sightings (that I'm aware of) since the fish farm also claim there never have been sigtings of tigers at the dive site. To this I say "not so" as I was Captaining a boat in October of '04 where the divers came up excited about the tiger shark they saw, that was before the fish farm. I was also in on a conversation where one of the DLNR biologists said they get tagged sharks going by the receiver out in the bay all the time, ... that was also prior to the fish farm.
I have seen whitetips go through both dive sites once or twice over the years, but it's a very rare event.
later
To Scubamazing- the fish farm is only a few hundred yards off shore. It's right of the westernmost tip of the island. I believe they chose the location because the prevailing currents generally head out to open ocean at the site.
On the sharks... the same guys I've heard making the most noise about the 2 or 3 tiger sightings (that I'm aware of) since the fish farm also claim there never have been sigtings of tigers at the dive site. To this I say "not so" as I was Captaining a boat in October of '04 where the divers came up excited about the tiger shark they saw, that was before the fish farm. I was also in on a conversation where one of the DLNR biologists said they get tagged sharks going by the receiver out in the bay all the time, ... that was also prior to the fish farm.
I have seen whitetips go through both dive sites once or twice over the years, but it's a very rare event.
later
A Record Number Of Mantas Showed Up For The Dive Last Night!!!!
23 MANTAS
OH YES THERE WERE!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!
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23 MANTAS
OH YES THERE WERE!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!
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Humuhumunukunukuapua'a
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Wow...that must have been quite a sight. Hope it holds out until we get there.
As far as sharks. The manta list reported a tiger sighted on that dive within the past fe months. And there are occasional white tip sightings too.
As far as sharks. The manta list reported a tiger sighted on that dive within the past fe months. And there are occasional white tip sightings too.
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