Shark Attacks Very Troubling for Island Paradise

Planning a trip to Hawaii this spring or summer?

If so, you’ve probably heard about Mark Monazzami’s tragic honeymoon. And if you weren’t aware of it before, you know now that you’ll be swimming in sparkling blue waters that are home to large and dangerous sharks.

You should also realize, however, that if you practice a little common sense, you have little to worry about--and that the dangers are far greater on the road to the airport than they are in the water at Waikiki.

Monazzami’s story, full of suspense and intrigue, has been told on television and in newspapers around the world. . . .

A kayak is rented by newlyweds who paddle out into the water. A sudden wind comes up and sweeps them out into the channel. Night falls and they find themselves miles from shore, clinging to the vessel while in the water in an attempt to stay out of the chilly wind.

The woman cries, “Shark!” and is pulled under. She surfaces without an arm and bleeds to death next to her husband. It’s rough and he can’t hold on, and she drifts off into the night. He climbs onto the kayak, weary, wet and cold, and drifts helplessly away, eventually washing ashore on an uninhabited island, where he wanders for two days before being rescued.

Or so his story goes . . .

There are doubters, naturally. The body of Nahid Davoodabai has not been recovered. Monazzami, a computer engineer from Sunnyvale, Calif., is the only one who knows exactly what happened during those fateful days two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, his story is raising more than eyebrows. Lawyers have been contacted and methods used by people who rent kayaks are being scrutinized.

“Those channels are wind-swept and if you get caught out there on any small vessel you could find yourself in deep trouble,” said Carol Hogan, who has promoted ocean sporting events at the islands for nearly 30 years. “My point is, the kayak companies should not let anyone go out alone if they know the people are inexperienced, or if the weather is going to be rough. And you shouldn’t go yourself if you know high winds are forecast, and they were that day.”

They were, but Monazzami maintains he wasn’t aware of the forecast and that nobody warned him. Regardless, he was fortunate to have been deposited on the shore of Kahoolawe Island, 12 miles from Maui, or his body might never have turned up.

He and his wife would have become mere statistics, classified as drowning victims. There would be no sensational tale and no media frenzy, which Maui police described as unprecedented.

Has any good come from all this?

Aside from the kayak safety issue, it is hoped Monazzami’s ordeal will bring about a greater respect for the ocean among the many visitors to paradise.

Hawaiian waters are not like Santa Monica Bay or Lake Michigan. They’re much more dynamic. The islands are in the middle of the ocean and exposed to strong winds almost daily. The water may be calm and comfortable in protected areas along the shore, but out in the channels the currents are usually swift and the seas often very rough.

For this reason, Hogan said, escort boats accompany competitors in the many cross-channel paddleboard and outrigger races she promotes. “It doesn’t matter how experienced you are,” she added, pointing to another well-publicized incident in 1978, which claimed the life of Hawaii’s Eddie Aikau.

Aikau, a world-famous surfer and lifeguard, disappeared while trying to paddle a 10-foot surfboard for help after a sailing vessel he and 15 others were on flipped in gale-force winds in the Molokai Channel.

The boat was the Hokulea, a traditional Polynesian double-hulled sailing canoe. The crew was practicing for a 3,000-mile journey to Tahiti and using only traditional navigation and sailing techniques. They had a radio, but when a giant wave capsized the 60-foot vessel about midnight, the radio was rendered inoperable.

Like Monazzami and his wife, the crew members clung to their craft and huddled in the water in an attempt to stay warm. At daybreak, with the vessel drifting away from the islands, it was decided that Aikau would try to paddle a surfboard for help on either Lanai or Molokai, which were still in sight.

Aikau figured it would take five hours. But fierce winds--and perhaps sharks--dictated otherwise. He was never found, despite a rescue effort that involved dozens of helicopters and boats. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescued the crew of the Hokulea that night.

Most tourists aren’t concerned about getting in such trouble, and rightly so. They generally stay near the coast and swim and snorkel in protected lagoons off beaches manned by lifeguards. If the surf is large, inexperienced swimmers are usually wise enough to stay ashore.

Hawaii averages about one death a week in the ocean. That’s pretty low considering that millions visit the islands every year.

The sharks are another matter. People are naturally curious about sharks and many of those planning to visit Hawaii in the near future might have been disturbed to learn that there is a potential man-eater lurking somewhere off Lahaina, from where Monazzami and his wife had set out.

Yes, Hawaii has sharks, several species of them. There are an average of about two attacks on humans per year and occasionally the bites are fatal.

Tiger sharks, which can measure 20 feet or more, are the top predators and blamed for most attacks. The first documented incident was in 1779, when a young male was bitten on the buttocks while surfing and later suffered “great pain” and died.

It should be pointed out that the reported attack on Davoodabai took place more than a mile offshore and at night.

Tiger sharks, by and large, are nighttime feeders. They generally remain in deeper water during the day, swimming up to the outer reefs at dusk to prey on fish and turtles, and then back to deeper water at dawn.

“The victims of attacks are usually either surfers or long-distance swimmers,” said John Naughton, a shark specialist with the National Marine Fisheries Service. “And they usually involve people who are in the water very early or very late.”

And most attacks occur at remote and uncrowded areas, often at or near the offshore reefs, or in murky areas such as those near river mouths, where sharks like to scavenge.

Surfers and bodyboarders were made painfully aware of the presence of tiger sharks in the winter of 1991-92, when the “gray suits” lashed out at least four times--one bite being fatal.

A shark was also blamed--though an attack was not confirmed--on the disappearance of a bodyboarder whose board washed ashore the next morning with teeth marks believed to have been made by a tiger shark.

All but one of these incidents took place off the north shore surfing mecca of Oahu. The next winter there were three more attacks, one of them fatal.

This was too much for local surfers, who were among the first to demand that the state take action. Some didn’t wait. Using baited hooks set at night, they started killing as many sharks as they could.

A state task force had been formed to field calls and discuss how to handle the situation. The lines were lighting up. And when summer rolled around and tourists began flocking to Waikiki and elsewhere on Oahu’s south shore, there was news in June of another attack on the other side of the island.

By then the state had also begun the controversial practice of killing sharks, though on a limited basis, trying to reduce the chance of more attacks and alleviate what tourism officials termed “hysteria.”

In all, at least 70 large tiger sharks were killed and Oahu has been almost incident-free since.

Now, however, the task force has reconvened for the first time since the early ‘90s. The reported attack on Monazzami’s wife is the third attack in Hawaii since March 5, when a swimmer suffered a severe bite on her leg about 300 yards off Kaanapali in Maui. There reportedly was an injured whale in the area and Naughton said injured whales usually attract sharks.

The other involved an early-morning assault on a bodyboarder off Kauai. His wound was not serious.

“Now we’re getting calls from people wondering if we’re going to remove more sharks,” Naughton said. “Right now the task force’s recommendation is no because of the nature of the attacks. The people involved were all in high-risk situations.

“And the last one involved people in the water at night, way out there, and by getting off the kayak they had put themselves in a hazardous situation. That was an unusual occurrence.”

* Fish Report, Page 12