Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rental Shops
The best place for renting snorkel gear in Ma'alaea is at
Maui Dive Shop
(300 Ma'alaea
Harbor Rd., 808/244-5514
www.mauidiveshop.com
, 6am-6pm daily) in the Ma'alaea Har-
bor Shops. There is a wide range of snorkeling equipment for rent or purchase, and you
can pick up an optical mask if you normally wear prescription glasses. Maui Dive Shop
is affiliated with the
Ali'i Nui
sailing catamaran in the harbor just across the street, so you
can often secure discounts on your rental gear if you end up combining it with a snorkeling
charter (although snorkeling gear is provided on the boat free of charge).
DON'T FEED THE FISH!
There was a time when bread crumbs, frozen peas, and fish food were as integral to
a snorkeling outing as a mask and fins. Though other places in the world still allow
fish feeding for the enjoyment of snorkelers, here in Hawai'I, feeding fish has had a
devastating effect on the marine ecosystem-particularly on coral reefs.
You shouldn't feed fish in the ocean for the same reason you don't feed bears in
the woods: It isn't their normal diet. When fish learn to subsist on an a foreign food
source, they neglect their natural one, which in this case is the algae that grows on
the reef and needs thinning out.
The next time you go snorkeling in Hawai'i, in addition to looking at all of the
bright, colorful aquatic species, listen to what you hear underwater. The sound is
similar to the “snap, crackle, and pop” of milk being poured over breakfast cereal,
which is actually the sound of dozens of reef fish all feeding on algae. When herbi-
vorous reef fish gorge themselves on the foreign food you introduce into the water,
they become so full that they neglect to clean the reef of algae. Consequently, the
coral polyps which form the reef become so overgrown that they struggle to breathe
and ultimately die.
Aside from the adverse effect on the coral, larger fish species have been known
to drive out the smaller fish species in areas where people feed fish. Many visitors
to Molokini notice there are fewer fish than when they visited in the 1980s. It's also
the reason for the stringent requirements currently in place.
Remember that some fish have sharp teeth. Many visitors have oval-shaped scars
on their fingers from introducing food into the water. For your own safety as well as
the health of the reef, don't feed the fish!
