ScubaLouie

[ScubaLouie]

Until only recently, it was not uncommon for snorkelers or scuba divers to bring a can of Easy Cheese, pizza crust or peas with them on an underwater adventure.

The fish would come in swarms to eat out of the swimmers’ hands.

But after decades of hand-feeding fish, environmentalists and charter operators said something went wrong: The fish became habituated or addicted to getting the food.

Sometimes the fish were so well fed that they refused to graze off of the reefs’ natural algae and seaweed.

Sometimes, when a snorkeler or swimmer didn’t have something for them to eat, the fish became aggressive and nippy. Dozens of cases of minor fish bites have been documented in Honolua Bay alone, said Liz Foote, Hawaii field director for the Coral Reef Alliance and executive director of Project S.E.A.-Link, a Maui-based ocean preservation nonprofit.

To combat the aggressive fish problem and help restore natural order to the delicate reef ecosystems, Foote’s organizations have mounted a coordinated campaign on Maui and across Hawaii to end the practice of fish feeding.

The Take a Bite Out of Fish Feeding Campaign now lists more than 30 members in its Fish-Friendly Business Alliance. Some dive shops and charter boats have refused to allow their customers to feed fish for years, Foote said.

However, there are still some chain stores and dive operators who question the research and point out that fish feeding remains legal in Hawaii – outside of preserves – and in some parts of the world, it is encouraged by governments.

Maui Dive Shop has taken the approach that it will continue to sell fish pellets approved by the University of Hawaii Marine Biology Department but have employees discourage customers from feeding fish, said Maui Dive Shop General Manager Jeff Strahn.

“If the choice is pizza crust or cheese or corn or stuff that’s bad for fish – basically we are trying to get people away from feeding the fish – but that fish food is a far superior product,” Strahn said.

It’s a supply-and-demand problem, he said. His employees will work to eliminate demand but continue to provide the safer alternative in the meantime, Strahn said.

Foote said she believes the shop owners, tourists and local divers will make the right decision once they have the right information.

With the increasing emphasis on earth-friendly and sustainable business practices, the campaign has been a hit so far, Foote said.

“These days, divers are much more interested in learning about marine life than in feeding it, riding it and collecting it,” said Pauline Fiene, owner of Mike Severns Diving, a scuba-diving charter operation in Kihei.

People are becoming more respectful of the marine life underwater and more interested in the natural behaviors of fish, Fiene said.

The literature includes a photo of a man who’d been bit on the finger by a fish. The campaign workers also hand out identifying door stickers to shops that participate.

“Just the experience of being accosted by the fish is enough to alarm a lot of people,” Foote said.

The Coral Reef Alliance is based in San Francisco and dedicated to protecting the health of coral reefs in the Pacific Rim and Latin America.

Foote said that when fish do not feed on algae and seaweed, it harms the reef by suffocating the coral and can even lead to the proliferation of invasive species otherwise eaten by the fish.

Elaine Cuaresma, owner of Maui Sights and Treasures in Kihei, said she recently unloaded her fish food and now tells her customers not to feed the fish.

“We all make money off of our beautiful ocean, so we don’t want to ruin our reef,” Cuaresma said.