U.S. federal official to go on shark awareness dive

STAR-ADVERTISER / 2008
Star-Advertiser / 2008 @Caption1:A federal Interior Department official is scheduled to join a shark-watching tour Saturday with Hawaii Shark Encounters in Haleiwa. On another Hawaii Shark Adventures tour, divers about three miles off Haleiwa got up close and personal with a shark that passed by their aluminum cage.

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A U.S. Interior Department official will go cage-diving with sharks Saturday off Oahu’s North Shore in an effort to call attention to the plight of the predators. And he may be joined by a few Micronesian foreign ministers.

The world’s largest regional shark sanctuary is due to be established in the western Pacific by December 2012 under a resolution passed by Micronesian leaders meeting in Pohnpei last month.

Tony Babauta, assistant secretary of the Interior for insular affairs, has signed up with Hawaii Shark Encounters, a tour that operates out of Haleiwa Harbor, and has received clearance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said David Bell, special representative for the Council of Micronesian Chief Executives.

Bell said Saturday he has not yet confirmed which foreign ministers will join Babauta, a native of Guam, on the shark tour.

"The chiefs understand that one of Micronesia’s greatest assets, its strongest competitive advantage, is its terrestrial and marine biodiversity," Bell said. "Having Assistant Secretary Babauta demonstrate his support for the declaration by the chiefs is an extraordinary opportunity to keep this effort on the policy forefront."

The boat will carry a delegation of about 12, Bell said.

Babauta will be in Honolulu to speak Thursday at the Council on Native Hawaiian Advancement, which will be attended by foreign ministers from Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Nine Micronesian heads of state signed a resolution July 28 at the 15th Micronesian Chief Executive Summit to establish the 2.5-million-square-mile sanctuary "to save the shark population that is now faced with extinction."

The resolution calls sharks a vitally important "apex" predator.

The measure is in line with a Hawaii law targeting trade in shark fins, long a popular ingredient in soup in Chinese restaurants. The law, which went into effect July 1, 2010, prohibits the sale, possession of and distribution of shark fins.

Hawaii Shark Encounters is one of two North Shore shark tour operators. Its owner could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The other, North Shore Shark Adventures, had three boats damaged by fire earlier this year, all suspected arson cases. The company has two other boats.