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House of Representatives - 23rd Legislature
February 3, 2005 - We at Manta Pacific Research Foundation
are thrilled. With the help of our local Representatives Josh
Green and Cindy
Evans, the Hawaii House of Representatives has assigned House
Bill 960 that .. "Protects manta rays from poaching and commercial
fishing by making it illegal to knowingly capture or kill a manta ray
in state waters."
Now comes the hard part - We need to let our representatives
know how important this is to us and our community. MPRF has collected
more than 5500 signatures on our petition to date, however all laws
take time and resources from our lawmakers and they need to set priorities
for what they can accomplish. Please take a moment to send a note to
your representative that you think Manta Protection is a priority for
the State of Hawaii.
Use the below links to find out how:
House
Bill 960
Representative
Josh Green (D-6th)
Representative
Cindy Evans (D-7th)
Water,
Land, & Ocean Resources Committee
Sign our
Petition
KHON2
News Story on Kona Manta Ray Night Dive
KHON2
News Story on the need for Manta Protection
Manta
Ray fishing pressure in Mexico
We need to let them know that:
1. Manta rays are unique creatures rarely seen by humans.
2. Manta rays are scarce. There are just not very many of them in the
world.
3. The long life span, late maturity, and low reproductive rate of manta
rays make them a poor target fishery.
4. Hawaii, along with Yap, are the top two places on earth to see mantas.
(The number 3 place in Mexico
hasn’t had a manta in several years perhaps due to manta fishing
in the area)
5. The Big Island is the best place in Hawaii for manta ray encounters,
but they are seen consistently on all islands in the chain.
6. In 2002, 11,000 people snorkeled and scuba dived with manta rays
on the Big Island. This generated $920,000. of direct and $2.4 million
of indirect revenue for the state.
7. Manta ray protection has been our goal for many years.
8. We have over 5,500 signatures on a petition asking the State of Hawaii
to protect manta rays.
9. In 1993 local sport divers established the guidelines for proper
human diver interaction.
10. Traditional, small, subsistence fisheries in Mexico, Indonesia and
the Philippines have changed to large modern fisheries and have almost
wiped out manta rays in those locations causing them to expand their
search.
11. There is no current or historical fishery for manta rays in Hawaii.
12. Economic pressure for fishing for manta rays could come to Hawaii.
13. House Bill 960 has been introduced to make it illegal to kill or
intentionally harm manta rays in Hawaii.
14. We want to prevent possible manta fishing in the future.
15. There are no problems now so no extra demands would be made of state
enforcement resources.
16. Once fishing starts the population would be destroyed before any
legislation to protect them could be enacted.
17. Once Manta Rays are gone they are gone forever. The time to act
is NOW..
18. Contact your Senators, Representatives and Governor and urge them
to protect manta rays in this legislative session before it’s too
late.
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