Posted on: Friday, January 25, 2002

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
State may post shark signs to alert Olowalu swimmers

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau

The state is considering posting permanent shark advisory signs on the West Maui coast at Olowalu, the site of three shark attacks in the past 11 years.

If it does, it will be a first time anywhere in the state such a warning will confront beachgoers, said Randy Honebrink, state Shark Task Force spokesman.

However, a final decision has not been made. Honebrink said more investigation is necessary before officials decide to post any signs at the popular snorkeling area.

He said the idea was given greater weight following the latest shark attack on New Year's Day, when a Los Angeles man was bitten while snorkeling with his girlfriend about 100 yards offshore. Thomas Holmes, 35, suffered bite wounds on his buttocks.

Henrietta Musselwhite, 56, of Geyserville, Calif., survived an Oct. 18, 2000, attack when she was bitten on her upper and lower back while snorkeling a half-mile offshore. On Nov. 26, 1991, swimmer Martha Joy Morrell, 41, of Maui, was mauled by a tiger shark in front of her oceanfront home in Olowalu. Her death triggered a state-sanctioned shark hunt and the formation of the Shark Task Force.

Honebrink said any signs would be less of a warning and more of an advisory, informing swimmers about what had occurred there.

In any case, Honebrink said he would be talking to the Maui Visitors Bureau and others in the community before any decision is made. Among other things to look into, he said, is whether permission can be obtained from property owners to post signs along the Olowalu shoreline.