City may start regular night events at Hanauma

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

HAWAI'I KAI — The opening of Hanauma Bay at night for the first time in more than a decade attracted 500 people on Saturday, mostly area residents who said they had stayed away because of crowds of tourists.

When the city opened Hanauma Bay at night on Saturday, 500 people came to enjoy it. City and County of Honolulu

The crowd was treated to torches erected along the beach, and the full moon provided additional light for swimmers to snorkel and scuba divers to venture beyond the reef.

All were required to watch the city's seven-minute educational video, except one couple who showed up in date wear just to see the bay at night under the moonlight, said Mary O'Leary, a city managing director assistant. Admission and parking fees were waived.

It was the first time the city allowed anyone to enter the bay at night since July 1990, when officials decided the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve needed stricter controls to prevent damage to the fragile environment.

But the city just spent $16.2 million to design and build an education center and improve buildings along the oceanfront, so officials wanted to find a way to encourage residents to come, said Peter Rappa, a University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College marine science faculty member in charge of the education program at Hanauma Bay.

"We've been talking about trying to find more ways to get residents to come," Rappa said. "We figured at night residents would be more inclined to come than tourists, because it's easy for them to jump in their car and bring their own gear.

"We're trying to foster a consciousness of the reef. We want people to learn indirectly in a fun way."

The company that operates the tram was there, and the gift and snack shops were open, too.

City lifeguards were not on duty beyond their posted hours, in compliance with city policy of not requiring lifeguards on city beaches at night.

Bob Kern, a Hanauma Bay education volunteer and former board member, hailed the night program and was not concerned it would affect the environment. He said he would prefer to see lifeguards on duty, though.

"It was actually pretty nice," Kern said. "As long as the integrity of the process — the education video and staying off the reef — is maintained, I think it's a great idea. Even with a light, you can only see as far as the light goes. While lifeguards can't see at night, if they were on hand they could respond if someone was identified as needing assistance."

Night diving in the nature preserve was a rare experience, Kern said. There are many different fish and marine life not visible during the day, he said.

"I don't see how opening the bay at night will cause a great deal of damage," Rappa said. "If we can stretch out the usage on a daily basis, then there wouldn't be nearly as much damage. The reef gets damaged from lots of people all jockeying for a position and there's a concentration of people in one spot."

Should nighttime hours prove to draw thousands of people, the city will have to rethink the plan, Rappa said. The bay gets an average of 3,000 visitors a day, only 15 percent of whom are Hawai'i residents.

"When you talk to most people about Hanauma Bay, they complain about the parking and the crowds and they sort of gave up on Hanauma," Rappa said. "Residents see it as a tourist place. (But) It's a fabulous, one-of-a-kind place where you can see Hawai'i's natural marine flora and fauna ... in their natural environment."

Reach Suzanne Roig at 395-8831 or sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.