Opposition to shark tours in Hawaii grows

Surfers, community members, and conservationists are building an effort to end shark cage tours in Hawaii over concerns of teaching sharks to associate people with food and throwing natural systems out of whack. Sharks could certainly use some good pr and some leading shark conservationists believe that done right, shark tourism could be a net positive to conservation and education efforts. However, putting people in a cage and throwing food into the water around them to shark tours neither benefits conservation nor engenders respect and reverence.

Those interested in seeing and helping sharks should look instead to organizations like Sea Turtle Restoration Project, who is offering a unique opportunity to participate in research on hammerhead sharks off the coast of the Cocos Islands in Costa Rica. Learn more about that trip here.