Question: Whatever happened to the arson case involving three boats owned by North Shore Shark Adventures that were destroyed in separate fires?
Answer: No arrests have been made, and the investigation is continuing, according to police spokesman Michelle Yu.
The fires occurred in the first three months of 2011 and were set at night. At 12:46 a.m. Jan. 7, the company’s 30-foot boat caught fire while docked at Haleiwa Boat Harbor. On Jan. 24, another 30-foot boat was burned shortly after midnight.
At 11:37 p.m. March 24, a 35-foot replacement tour boat was burned while sitting on a trailer at the harbor. Damage to all three boats was estimated at $570,000.
Police Sgt. Kim Buffett of CrimeStoppers said Wednesday that HPD has not received any recent tips or leads on the fires. Arson, a felony, carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.
Joe Pavsek, owner of North Shore Shark Adventures, could not be reached for comment.
Haleiwa businesses had offered a $24,000 reward for information on the arson case.
Michael Lyons, chairman of the North Shore Neighborhood Board, said, “This kind of criminal activity shouldn’t be tolerated. An arrest should be made.”
He added, “You can’t go and burn and steal and pillage just because you’re not in favor of what this person does legally.”
Controversy has surrounded the shark tours for years. Operators say they venture to areas where sharks are already present. A 2009 scientific study conducted by the University of Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology determined the boats took advantage of sharks that already congregate around crabbing boats that throw old bait into the ocean from their traps, a practice since the 1960s. Researchers said the tours did not pose a threat.
Opponents, however, say the tour boats are chumming, or feeding, to attract sharks to the boats, posing harm to surfers, paddlers and the marine environment.
Shark feeding is illegal in state waters within three miles off shore.
Five employees of North Shore Shark Adventures and Hawaii Shark Encounters were arrested in 2010 for feeding sharks within the three-mile limit but a state judge threw out the charges.
Mahina Chillingworth of Hui O He‘e Nalu, an organization of surfers and other community members, said
they are against shark feeding but are not anti-business. Businesses have to operate legitimately and not endanger lives, she said.
“I hope they find the person who did it,” said Chillingworth, adding that the group or its members would not commit arson.
Anyone with information about the arson case is urged to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300.
———
This update was written by Rosemarie Bernardo.
Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.
