'Wiped out before our eyes': Hawaii offers bold plan to stop shark killings
Source: The Guardian
'Wiped out before our eyes': Hawaii offers bold plan to stop shark killings
Proposal law would protects any shark or ray in state waters and be first of its kind in US
Breena Kerr in Maui
Fri 8 Feb 2019 23.00 GMT
Sharks could soon become more numerous in Hawaii waters – and advocates say that’s a good thing.
Lawmakers in Honolulu advanced a proposed ban on killing sharks in state waters on Wednesday, after receiving hundreds of calls and letters of support from around the country. The law, which would provide sweeping protection for any shark, rather than select species, could be the first of its kind in the United States.
“These amazing animals are getting wiped out before our eyes, and people don’t even realize what they’re missing out on,” said Ocean Ramsey, a Hawaii-based shark conservationist, researcher and tour operator who has been instrumental in lobbying for the bill, in an interview with the Guardian. Last month, a photo of Ramsey swimming with a 6-metre (20ft) great white shark off the coast of Oahu went viral.
Along with killing the animals, capturing or harming them would also incur fines and count as a misdemeanor offense.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/08/hawaii-law-shark-ray-ban-ocean