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The Pupukea Marine
Life Conservation District - MLCD (Shark's Cove & Three Tables)
Save Shark's
Cove Task Force Meeting #3
November 10th, 1999
Waimea Valley, North Shore Oahu
So here we were at the third of five scheduled meetings with virtually
nothing accomplished in regards to the rules changes we were meant to
decide on. Would this be the meeting to change that? Indeed it was.
Finally we were going to talk about the issues. First was netting. Everybody
agreed as I had hoped, that netting had no place in a so called "conservation
district" and we agreed that it should be banned. Second was spear
fishing and once again we all agreed that this also had no place in
the area. We voted to ban it. Third, and most certainly the biggest
question mark, was pole and line fishing. Everybody knowing the amount
of turtles we had already saved from discarded fishing line definitely
had an impact and only one real opponent made his objection. His reason
was valid that many retired and otherwise low-income people use that
area to subsidize their dinner plates. After just having witnessed thousands
of fish removed from a Waimea Bay netter I was sympathetic to his statement.
But the bottom line was that the North Shore had not one marine sanctuary
and every inch of coastline was currently available for fishing. Based
on this reality I felt we must set this one small area aside, for the
future. In our plan to ban fishing however we proposed that the boundaries
be changed slightly so that fishing could continue in one area of Shark's
Cove but not within the MLCD itself. That way they would at least have
one area left to fish while keeping the rules in the MLCD strict and
easier to enforce. This proposition seemed to be unanimously accepted
as reasonable but decision on this issue was delayed for further debate.
Progress had been made and the next meeting we were to discuss expansion
of the MLCD< this I was looking forward to.
Save Shark's
Cove Task Force Meeting #2
October 13th, 1999
Waimea Valley, North Shore Oahu
Into this meeting I went with articles showing the problems in California
and globally due to lack of marine protection. I also handed out our
proposal to eliminate spearing, fishing, and netting in the MLCD and
expand the area to over triple its current size while enveloping Waimea
Bay. The meeting however was more about things we had no say in and
I expressed my dissatisfaction more than once. I also urged that we
move with more speed in order to prevent failure in our charge to address
the issues of rules changes. I left this meeting highly frustrated but
the agenda I had pushed for the next meeting seemed to be in place and
perhaps we were now ready to accomplish something.
Save Shark's
Cove Task Force Meeting #1
September 8th, 1999
Waimea Valley, North Shore Oahu
Being the type of person who likes to get things done this meeting was
less than satisfying. It was pretty much limited to what our charge
was and the time frame of all things involved and I was beginning to
think I was becoming part of the system I resent for its ineffectiveness.
The crux of it was that there would be a planned five meetings over
five months and after that we as a task force would make recommendations
regarding any rules changes (see Save Shark's Cove #1 ) to the Department
of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). From that a series of processes
would occur that would likely take another year and a half. Bureaucracy
in action! Our goal was to not only change the rules for the better
but to expand the conservation area (MLCD) to more than triple its current
size. Although we didn't accomplish much in my eyes there was some opportunity
to meet our adversaries and find some common ground, so this was good.
The agenda had been set for the next meeting and my hope was that this
would allow for more productive movement. I was wrong.
Save Shark's
Cove Task Force Appointment Meeting
August 11th, 1999
Sunset Beach Elementary School, North Shore Oahu
Previous to this meeting we had made many attempts to solicit help and
feedback from other Oahu dive operations to protect Shark's Cove. With
only two exceptions nobody wanted to know. The resentment I feel about
the blatant apathy that the majority of operations here show is substantial.
I repeat what I believe is our obligation as businesses that derive
our incomes from the ocean; if there are problems out there; we are
compelled to do something about it. In the case of Shark's Cove virtually
none will say the area is O.K. most all agree the area has gone from
bad to worse over the years and who should know better than the people
like ourselves who use the area. Despite this the dive operators got
together on a hastily arranged meeting two hours before task force delegates
were to be chosen. Almost exclusively the interest was in preventing
any loss of access to one of the dive operator's biggest cash cows.
Preservation and conservation were not priorities. It was on this day
that I decided that I would separate myself from this group that reflected
capitalism and greed at the expense of the environment they operate
in. We had sincerely tried to work with these operators and concluded
that their interests lie elsewhere. This I am sure will change with
time. So I ran as a conservation delegate and won. The commercial divers
put up their status quo delegate who has played unimpressive lip service
and disguises the real agenda, "keep our unimpeded access in tact!"
Save Sharks Cove
Cleanup
July 24th, 1999
Sharks Cove, North Shore Oahu
 With
the big neighborhood board meeting in three days, a Sharks Cove Cleanup
was in order, although we clean up the cove almost daily in summer.
Direct Action to us means removing fishing line when we see it. Unfortunately
there is no lack of discarded fishing line at Sharks Cove. Three teams
of 4-5 divers conducted one dive each on this day and unwrapped line
from approximately 100 coral heads. This line as we very well know ends
up wrapping around other marine life such as turtles, dolphins, and
anything else that swims. We also removed a large outboard motor, which
had been dumped.
Save Sharks Cove
#2
March 1999
North Shore Neighborhood Board Monthly Meeting
Once again my point at this meeting was to expose the total lack of
marine life protection on the North Shore. Of the 50 miles of coastline
we have, literally not one inch is protected. As a dive operation we
believe it is our highest priority to change that, and it was with that
message I spoke once again. The reality is that on the entire island
of Oahu, roughly three miles of coastline is protected. This is fairly
typical throughout the state and it is a broader goal of ours to expose
that, so that changes are made. As a result primarily from our statement
a State Senator (Bunda) and his aid got directly involved in a new push
to compel the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) to open
up rules changes, which could prohibit the taking of marine life at
Sharks Cove. Indeed they did and the wheels began to turn. 
Save Sharks Cove
# 1
February 1999
North Shore Neighborhood Board Monthly Meeting
Being based on the North Shore we dive at a spot called Sharks Cove
on a regular basis. This spot was voted one of the top 12 shore dives
in the world by the readers of Rodale's Scuba Diving magazine in 1996.
Despite this, the area is not protected. Although the state made it
a "Marine Life Conservation District" (MLCD) in 1983. It also
allowed exceptions to the normal rules so that spear fishing, pole fishing
and even netting are allowed in the area. This MLCD is one of many "feel
good" conservation areas throughout the state that do virtually
nothing to protect our marine resources. At a typical meeting with 10-15
residents attending I stated what a "disgrace" I felt the
area was. I also stated that it was an "embarrassment" to
the visitors of the world who could see our obviously backwards conservation
policies.
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less than 1% is too much. Even though less than 1% of Oahu's total coastline
is protected I already have it from inside sources that DLNR basically
intends to capitulate to any substantial opposition. In essence their
taking the easy out and the enemies of progress offer their way to accomplish
this. This is the standard drill for Hawaii. However, our 37 turtle
rescues & 11 Ghost Net recoveries as of August 2001 are going to
make this a glaring example of inept government stewardship at best.
Given the fact that the mission of DLNR is to protect the natural resources
and the Endangered Species Act compels this even further, a devastating
lawsuit exposing Hawaii's disgraceful lack of conservation is likely
should DLNR shun their responsibilities yet again. Either way, we are
going to get the North Shore of Oahu protected. We owe that much to
all the marine life who have so blessed us in all the time we have been
here. 