Hawaiian authorities have referred 33 people for investigation after the group allegedly “aggressively harassed” a pod of wild dolphins.
A group of snorkellers who were allegedly caught by a drone “aggressively pursuing, corralling and harassing” a pod of protected spinner dolphins in Honaunau Bay were met by police when they got out of the water on Sunday.
It’s against federal law to swim within 45 metres of the nocturnal dolphins in Hawaii’s nearshore waters and the footage showed them following the pod as they swam away.
To the untrained eye, the dolphins can appear to be awake during the day as they are swimming but may be sleeping even as they manoeuvre through the water.
They rest half their brains and keep the other awake to surface and breathe.
The 45 metre rule was enforced in 2021 amid concerns the nocturnal mammals were not getting the rest they needed to forage for food at night due to the number of tourists approaching them.
The rule applies to areas within 3.7 kilometres of the Hawaiian Islands and in designated waters surrounded by the islands of Lanai, Maui and Kahoolawe.
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“Drone video and photographs show a group of swimmers who appear to be aggressively pursuing, corralling, and harassing the pod,” DNLR said in a statement.
“Under the Joint Enforcement Agreement with the DLNR, Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement Officers are deputised as federal officers and are authorised to enforce federal marine laws, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act.”
Hawaii’s spinner dolphins feast on fish and small crustaceans that surface from the ocean’s depths at night.
When the sun rises, they head for shallow bays to hide from tiger sharks and other predators.
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