With the recent shark attacks that have happened in the state of Hawaii, there seems to be a state of paranoia going on. I understand folks are afraid of sharks and they are certainly the last thing I would ever want to see in the ocean, however, they are there and there is nothing we can really do to prevent them from being in their ocean.
The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) now has budgeted $186,000 for a two year study that will be lead by Dr. Carl Meyer to study shark movements around Maui.
As a taxpayer, this study sounds ridiculous to me:
"DLNR is paying close attention to the recent series of shark incidents statewide," said William Aila, DLNR chairperson. "These appear to be random events involving sharks of different species and different sizes. There's nothing we can yet discern that connects the incidents or provides any sort of explanation."
In 2013, there have been eight incidents, including four within the last month. Four of this year's incidents occurred on Maui, three on the Big Island, and one on Oahu.
Most of us here in Hawaii understand that there are sharks in the ocean. If you ask the majority of folks who are attacked, getting back into the ocean is often considered one of their number one priorities after healing from their wounds.
Spending $186,000 of our money to basically tell us that yes, there are sharks in the ocean just seems a bit ridiculous to a resident of Hawaii like me. I could see that money going to hire more lifeguards, which would definitely save lives in the future!
Just a bit of trivia, two Universal Studio movie producers, Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown read a novel written by Peter Benchley named "Jaws." After reading the book, they purchased the movie rights to "Jaws" for only $175,000 and the rest is history.