Sponsored By:
The Barbara Delano Foundation
The Homeland Foundation
The David & Lucile Packard Foundation
The AVINA Foundation

Presented By:
WildAid
Hawaii Audubon Society
Pacific Fisheries Coalition

Rick Gaffney
Rick Gaffney & Associates, Inc.
73-1062 Ahikawa Street
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Phone: 808 325-5000
Fax: 808 325-7023
Email: [email protected]

Abstract

Like Carcharhinids drawn to the carcass of a dying whale, sharks have attracted tourists to various destinations on our planet, for centuries. Long before the colossus of Jaws had infected the imaginations of theater-goers around the world, a profound fascination with the ocean's most respected predator and most basic fish already existed in the human mind.

Sharks have also been considered the bane of tourism associations in some parts of the world and elaborate measures have been undertaken to separate loathsome "man-eating sharks" from the tourists who support local economies.

Sharks have been schizophrenically considered to be both a detriment to tourism and a tourist attraction and the history of that dichotomy has taken any forms. We will explore the history of sharks as big game fish passionately pursued by international anglers and as "big critter" attractions heralded by dive operators. We will also explore the protective mechanisms undertaken by governments, sometimes in the same waters the sharks are considered tourist attractions.

There are various positive and negative examples of the "management" of shark species, both as attractions and as threats. The practices of creating artificial congregations of sharks, changing natural patterns of aggregation, introducing artificial diets and displacing natural populations, will also be considered.