Regulating Manta Dive?

Manta dive makes front page of West Hawaii Today 4/1/14

Manta dive makes front page of West Hawaii Today 4/1/14

An update on the current attempt to regulate the Kona Manta dive made the front page of the West Hawaii Today newspaper. We’ve watched the night manta dive or snorkel grow in popularity over the last 10 years and it consistently ranks as one of the top 10 dives in the world. Procedures and safety at the two manta sites along the Kona Coast are currently self-regulated by the commercial operators who frequent these sites.

The sponsor of these resolutions wants to draw attention to safety concerns of the often-crowded sites. The resolutions suggest the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) make rules to manage manta tours; but, falls short of requiring permitting or any other specific action. A bill that would have required permitting stalled out last month. One challenge with any new rules or permitting process is that the DLNR does not have sufficient resources to enforce rules already on the books.

No call to action for now while legislators and regulators keep operators involved in the process of keeping manta viewing safe for all.

Manta ray dive at Garden Eel Cove Nov 2012

Manta ray dive at Garden Eel Cove Nov 2012

Manta ray dive at Garden Eel Cove Nov 2012

Manta ray dive at Garden Eel Cove Nov 2012

Read the full article, with more pictures, here.

manta front page 140401 article

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1 thought on “Regulating Manta Dive?

  1. Pingback: Possibility of regulation of Kona's manta ray dive on front page of West Hawaii Today

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