Unfair Maui Rules May End Scuba Instruction! We Need Your Help

[Shaka Doug]

The hearing is now over. They are accepting written emailed testimony until 3:00 today at:

"Jean Miyazano" <jean.miyazono@co.maui.hi.us>

There were about 25 people who testified for our industry and one against. It appeared to me to simply be a formality process that the county was required to do to satisfy some legal requirements to go through the process of adopting the ordinance. The county officials sat quietly as people gave their testimony and never asked any questions of any testifier.

Send them a piece of your mind!!

 

[Shaka Doug]

SAVEMAUI.net

The woman who made this website testified today. She has a lot of good points and she's pretty angry about the situation. That's what it's going to take to get most of the people around here to get off their butts and do something. Look at her website and get angry too!!:

Save Maui - Maui Hawaii - Save Maui Hawaii

 

[KrisB]

Well, that person sure isnt tourist friendly. Hey, it's us tourists that support the commercial dive ops and he wants to limit tourist parking? Yeah, Ok, that might work if I was riding Doug's shakabus, but otherwise, how would we tourists get to the beach to support the local dive ops?

adjuster-jd: she isn't unfriendly to tourists... she's making a point, and that is that the cars that plug up the parking lots aren't, for the most part, related to the commercial users of the beach, but to the tourists who couldn't walk the half-block from their hotel.

I can't count the number of times that a shiny car (complete with rental agency barcode on the window) has taken up two spots at a beach lot, or jammed up the loading/unloading area due to disrespectful means.

I'm not saying this to be mean or to get upset with the tourists -- I'm saying it because the commercial operators (and non-commercial activity providers) are being blamed for this stuff, when IT'S NOT US!

 

[rgbmatt]

And a commercial operator responds in the Maui News:
Protection a bogus claim by county - Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor's Information - The Maui News

Hey, what do you know. I dive for aquarium fish on Oahu, and the author of that letter has been lobbying for the last couple of years to put us out of business using similar tactics. Basically, they write up some sort of proposed regulation that looks reasonable, but if you read the fine print it's designed so that there's no way that we could survive. Is this karma or what?

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who think there's something morally wrong with using public beach parks for personal profit. This is probably something that'll keep coming up and you'll always have to deal with it.

Good luck - it sucks having to fight all the time to keep doing a job that you love, but it's worth it in the end.

 

[KrisB]

Here's today's coverage:
Testimonies dispute isle ocean sport permit plan - Mauinews.com | News, Sports, Jobs, Visitor's Information - The Maui News

Matt: I'm all for responsible taking from the ocean... the key word is responsible. Around Maui, we've seen reefs raped of fish that are known to not survive well in captivity (e.g. Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse, among others). Others are taking from reefs that are too deep to take the fish directly from, but they don't understand the decompression issues... so these fish aren't surviving either.

Rene is a champion of protection of the underwater world -- at least that's all I've seen from her here. I'm sorry if she's upset you with some of her lobbying for rules that actually protect the ocean's inhabitants -- sometimes that can go over the top.

 

[scubadada]

rgbmatt,

I'm not at all sure that unlimited harvesting of fish for the aquarium trade is a rational way of protecting our reefs for our generation, let alone future generations. This is quite different than the scuba industry. Sorry, I'd like to see you regulated in a rational, fair manner. I have read many reports of the reef fish off Kona being severely depleted. Many blame the aquarium industry, I reserve judgement. I do know that I would love to return to Hawaii and enjoy the diving, including the many fantastic fish endemic to Hawaii.

Good diving, Craig

I'm quite sure I will hear about this post, keep it clean

 

[Black_3000psi]

man you guys dont even pay attention to what your saying. ok so they dont like public area used for profit. well that would mean that no public area would be exempt. so all the venders on oahu who use the beach area to ply their wares would have to be affected in the same manner. krisb you say its not the dive industry causing the problem but did anybody attempt to get any type of proof to that fact.how hard is it to show that proof via pics or video. i suggest you guys find a chat board that deals with consitutional law and ask some of the people there what they think. one of them my be interested in helping themself by helping your cause.

 

[rgbmatt]

man you guys dont even pay attention to what your saying. ok so they dont like public area used for profit. well that would mean that no public area would be exempt. so all the venders on oahu who use the beach area to ply their wares would have to be affected in the same manner.

This kind of thing affects just about anyone who makes money in public areas - beach vendors included.

In fact, there was just an article today in the Star-Bulletin about a similar city ordinance against Waikiki street performers. You'll be happy to see that they successfully challenged it using constitutional law:

Street performers merit appeals court ruling - Hawaii Editorials - Starbulletin.com

I'm not at all sure that unlimited harvesting of fish for the aquarium trade is a rational way of protecting our reefs for our generation, let alone future generations. This is quite different than the scuba industry. Sorry, I'd like to see you regulated in a rational, fair manner.

I'm right there with you on this one. I have no desire to interfere with other divers' ability to enjoy the ocean, and I'd like for my kids to enjoy watching fish and keeping aquariums just as I have.

The key is "rational and fair", however. Last time somebody tried to "regulate" us, it was a horribly written bill that would have made it illegal for any kid with a net and a bucket to take home a fish from a tidepool. Unfortunately, this sort of extreme approach doesn't help much, since it just makes everyone upset and stalls any real progress towards finding something that would work for the long term. It sounds like something similar is going on with the Maui dive industry.

Matt: I'm all for responsible taking from the ocean... the key word is responsible. Around Maui, we've seen reefs raped of fish that are known to not survive well in captivity (e.g. Hawaiian Cleaner Wrasse, among others).

Not really. Cleaner wrasse, as you note, are bad aquarium fish, so they are not popular as pets and consequently we don't often catch them. The same goes for other species that don't survive in captivity. Sometimes I wish they'd just ban cleaner wrasse already so people would stop complaining. Also, Maui has practically nothing in the way of an aquarium industry - it's something like 3% of the catch for the state. IIRC you said something in a different post about Maui tree huggers blowing things out of proportion.

But I guess that's all way off topic. I have nothing against scuba instructors, and I hope you guys are able to work something out that lets you keep your jobs but addresses the beach crowding issues. It sounds like the hearing went well, at least.

 

[scubadada]

The aquarum trade is not without potential adverse consequenses. The following are but 2 recent Undercurrent reviews.

From 6/09:

"Poor Hawaii. Having read a reader report bemoaning the loss of fish in
Hawaii's reefs, I thought I was prepared. But I wasn't. Reefs are the
ocean's nursery and Hawaiian's have murdered their young. I'm told that
there are no limits on the taking of reef fish, most of which go to the
commercial aquarium trade. Whatever the reason, Hawaiians' need to wake-up
to what they are doing. While the Manta night dive was absolute magic, it
is a manufactured event. The true joy of diving is experiencing the
natural underwater world. I've now experienced Hawaii's and it ain't
pretty."


From 8/08:

"I really hate to write this review. I have dived with Dive Makai for over
twenty years. Over that period of time the dive operation has been
wonderful and still is. The people running the boat work in the same manner
as the past even though I really miss diving with Lisa.The problem is with
the fish life on the reefs. In 8 dives we saw very little and since the
coral in Hawaii is minimal there was little to see. The dive guide tried
hard but was unsuccessful.Even our three dive adventure was pretty much a
bust. What a difference from the past when fish of all types were common.
The only exception was the Manta Ray night dive. This was superb many
Mantas and up close for the whole dive it blew my 14 year old sons mind."

I'd like to hope we can find a way to preserve the Hawaiin reef environment for all to enjoy now and into the future.

Good diving, Craig

 

[KrisB]

man you guys dont even pay attention to what your saying. ok so they dont like public area used for profit. well that would mean that no public area would be exempt. so all the venders on oahu who use the beach area to ply their wares would have to be affected in the same manner. krisb you say its not the dive industry causing the problem but did anybody attempt to get any type of proof to that fact.how hard is it to show that proof via pics or video. i suggest you guys find a chat board that deals with consitutional law and ask some of the people there what they think. one of them my be interested in helping themself by helping your cause.

Attempts have been made to show that it has little-to-nothing to do with the ocean recreational activities or the commercial providers of those activities. Unfortunately, proving that it ISN'T that is far more difficult than suggesting that it is.

The native Hawaiians that are pushing for this regulation don't understand that, for a significant part, it is their lack of care for the ocean -- they'll go out and shoot anything that moves for "sport", they'll organise a tako derby where hundreds of spear fishermen head in off one beach in search of the largest octopus... they'll insist on being able to carry on their practice of lay-gill netting. Need I go on?