HONOLULU, Hawaii — City Council members yesterday scrapped a bill that would prohibit shark tour operations on O'ahu after city attorneys advised them that they may be stepping outside of their jurisdiction. The decision by the council's Executive Matters & Legal Affairs Committee came after dozens of people spent nearly three hours testifying for or against the proposed ban. State law makes it illegal to operate shark tours within three miles of the shore. Bill 67 would have made it illegal to maintain an office, collect money, market or conduct any other activity related to a shark tour. But after meeting behind closed doors with lawyers from the city Corporation Counsel's Office, committee members voted 7-1 to shelve the bill. City attorneys advised council members that they would need to provide concrete evidence that shark tours posed a hazard to public safety. To date, there has only been anecdotal evidence that such danger exists, said Council Chairman Todd Apo. However, Executive Matters Committee Chairman Charles Djou, who introduced the bill, said he believed there was enough evidence from the testimony given yesterday to show shark tours can pose a danger to the public. "Rather than confront this issue, now this issue is going to wind up in the lap of the Legislature," he said. Djou noted that Maui County passed a shark tour ban recently and that its attorneys did not pose the same concerns as Honolulu attorneys. Earlier in the day, Djou had offered a compromise measure that would have allowed O'ahu's two shark tour companies to continue their operations on the North Shore. Testimony was split. A number of Hale'iwa business leaders and residents said they support allowing the shark tour operators to continue operations. Not only have there been no problems involving the shark tour companies, they've been a valued part of the community, they said. Opponents, led by a number of East Honolulu residents, said shark tours draw sharks into shallower waters and that feeding them was a violation. Owners of the two existing shark tour operations said their operations are unique because they only draw the more docile sandbar and Galapagos sharks. The tour operators and their supporters applauded when the bill was shelved, but supporters of banning the tours remained hopeful. Greg Knudsen, chairman of the Hawai'i Kai Neighborhood Board, said a ban is needed because existing laws are not being enforced. Knudsen said supporters of a ban will pursue it at the Legislature. by Gordon Y.K. Pang
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