MAUI, Hawaii (21 July 2004) -- Eco-tourism is a kind of buzzword that has more to do with marketing than it does with ecology. There is one kind of tourist, though, who sees beyond the visitor marketing and wants to spend vacation time doing something for the environment. There are others, but the tourist most likely to fit that description is the scuba diver. The dive-and-snorkel industry is an important part of Maui's visitor industry. The dive companies are mostly locally owned and operated. The millions of dollars spent on tours and equipment stay on the island. Dive guides and dive companies know, as a matter of enlightened self-interest, that the health of the reefs and marine sanctuaries is vital to their business. The most successful businesses cater to repeat customers and include briefings on what the divers will be seeing when they go below to take pictures and leave bubbles. A major attraction for divers traveling to Maui is the honu, the green sea turtle. There is something supremely satisfying about gliding through clear water and seeing one of these creatures. In motion, the honu is grace incarnate, seemingly able to move in three dimensions without effort. At rest, perhaps at a cleaning station where cleaner wrasses and shrimp take off parasites and dead skin, the long-lived green sea turtle is an example of composure. | | Their big eyes and calm ways speak of wisdom in a way that goes beyond Disneyesque anthropomorphism, particularly when you know what dangers they face. One of those dangers is a virus that caused tumors to grow on the honu, sometimes blinding them. Two diving tourists, Peter Bennett and Ursula Keuper-Bennett, have spent their summers away from Canada identifying and studying the habits of honu for more than 10 years. It is, according to experts, the most complete record, including detailed log notes, of a green sea turtle population in the world. The Bennetts have proof the honu is developing defenses against the tumor-causing virus. They have photographs of individual animals once covered with the tumors now almost tumor free. That's very good news for an animal that was once hunted almost to extinction. It's also good news for a very special part of Maui's visitor industry. SOURCE - Maui News |
