Hawaii is known, in addition to many other virtues, for being a sighting area for spinning dolphins and acrobats . Something that has made many companies offer it as a tourist attraction, which is why the government began to process a law in 2016 in order to protect them and prohibit this type of activity. Finally, the law has been approved this September and, from now on, it will no longer be allowed to swim between them or approach with boats less than 45 meters away.
The reasons that have led the executive to make this decision is protect dolphins at the alarm of marine biologists . The spinner dolphin is a species with a long snout that lives in tropical seas and usually feeds at night ; while during the day he takes the opportunity to rest near the coast -that is why it is easy to see them from the boats-.
However, since they are able to swim even when they are sleeping, many tourists even inadvertently interfere with their sleeping patterns , with the added risk that when they are suddenly woken up they can become frightened and react in a dangerous way.
Respecting their space is vital to their survival.
As if that were not enough, in recent years there has been a "dramatic growth" of tourist activities related to them , according to the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the government of the islands, which does not allow them to rest normally and can end up negatively affecting their health and well-being. In fact, he Specialists have already noticed a decrease in the number of turns and acrobatics carried out by cetaceans , which they relate to a disturbance of their normal behavior.
It is true that dolphins can move away if they see people or boats, but this has consequences. “Completely abandon their resting habitat can lead to increased risk of predation if spinner dolphins move to a more vulnerable location. It can also lead to higher energy demands if they need to travel longer distances at night to reach their foraging grounds.
NEW RESTRICTIONS
And although they have not yet been approved, NOAA Fisheries is also proposing to establish temporary closures in certain five areas near the coast designated as essential daytime habitats for dolphins. This regulation would prohibit approaching between six in the morning and three in the afternoon every day in Kealakekua, Hōnaunau, Kauhakō (Ho'okena), and Makako Bays, and in La Perouse Bay on Maui.
And about the exceptions to the approved law, only those rescue boats, fishing activities authorized by NOAA, government boats and personnel that perform official functions, boats that transit directly through the area and that participate in organized canoe regattas, vessels seeking access to adjacent private property, and canoes used for traditional subsistence fishing.