Oahu in Depth - Honolulu, Waikiki and Oahu - page 80

A humpback whale showing off.
SHARKS Yes, there are sharks in Hawaii, but you more than likely won't see one unless you're
specifically looking. About 40 different species of sharks inhabit the waters surrounding
Hawaii, ranging from the totally harmless whaleshark (at 60 ft., the world's largest fish),
which has no teeth and is so docile that it frequently lets divers ride on its back, to the
not-so-docile, extremely uncommon greatwhiteshark. The most common sharks seen in
Hawaii are white-tip or grayreefsharks (about 5 ft. long) and black-tipreefsharks (about
6 ft. long).
Hawaii's Ecosystem Problems
Officials at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island saw a potential problem a few
decades ago with people taking a few rocks home with them as “souvenirs.” To prevent this
problem from escalating, the park rangers created a legend that the fiery volcano goddess,
Pele, would punish these souvenir-seekers with bad luck. There used to be a display case in
the park's visitor center filled with letters from people who had taken rocks from the volcano,
relating stories of all the bad luck that followed. Most begged Pele's forgiveness and instruc-
ted the rangers to please return the rock to the exact location that was its original home.
Unfortunately, Hawaii's other ecosystem problems can't be handled as easily.
MARINE LIFE Hawaii's beautiful and abundant marine life has attracted so many visitors that
they threaten to overwhelm it. A great example of this is Oahu's HanaumaBay. Crowds
flock to this marine preserve, which features calm, protected swimming and snorkeling