LIHU‘E — Do these sharks eat people? A little person queried Aaron Swink of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Aquatic Resources, Friday while his mother put her name to a list of resources being offered through the Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery.
“The DAR has a website on Hawai‘i sharks,” said Jean Souza, the Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery on-site manager and the Kaua‘i Program Specialist for the Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. “When reports come in of human-shark interaction, it gets posted to this website. Some of these interactions make interesting reading.”
Sharks was the theme of the latest Grab &Go learning kits that were being distributed to eager young learners and their caretakers who made time to view the latest installation of the shark educational panel on Shark Wall at the Kukui Grove Center.
“He was asking me all kinds of questions while I was driving,” a grandfather said. “Then, I remembered they were doing this so I brought him here.”
The young learner was not only treated to a lengthy stay at the Shark Wall, he also made the cutoff for one of the free shark posters that were being handed out to the first 50 visitors courtesy of the Kukui Grove Center.
“Aaron wanted to do this,” Souza said. “I’m glad we could push everything, especially the installation of the panel, so this could come together. There is a lot of interest from everyone, not just young people. And, they don’t bunch up so we didn’t have to worry about social distancing.”
Souza said among those picking up material were Kumu Sabra Kauka and Steve Soltysik, a sailing and boating enthusiast.
“I got to speak with them and suggested that we could do similar things with Hawaiiana and ocean navigation,” Souza said.
Friday’s presentation was a partnership between the Kukui Grove Center, the Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery, and the Division of Aquatic Resources.
Future presentations are also in the works as Souza said the Kaua‘i Ocean Discovery plans on doing a theme of seabirds in October to tie in with the fledging of the endangered seabirds on Kaua‘i.
“November’s theme will be on whales,” she said. “That coincides with the return of the humpback whales.”
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.
