| Humpback sanctuary - dumping on the decline
Our colleagues at Pump Don't Dump (PDD) in Maui advise us that things are looking up for the future of the whales and their habitat.
 Assistance given by the Marine Connection to raise awareness of the issue, has helped to put pressure on boat operators and authorities regarding the dumping of raw sewage in the humpback whale sanctuary. As a direct result of this, more and more boaters are bowing to public pressure and pumping out voluntarily - momentum appears to be in favour of the whales at last!
The US Federal Agency NOAA has represented that they will be working with state and other federal agencies to determine whether they will proceed with additional regulations in the Whale Sanctuary. PDD has submitted legislation to the State of Hawaii to request NOAA adopt rules to protect the animals from vessel sewage dumped into the Sanctuary. The Marine Connection will continue to support this campaign and ask everyone to help stop the dumping of sewage into the whale sanctuary.
With your help we can make these threats to the whales a distant memory :
- Innocent new-born calves maimed by exposed metal boat propellers or bruised by collisions with tour vessels, making them susceptible to shark attacks.
- Toxic sludge in the water - liquified faeces sticks to open cuts and wounds on whales - imagine a newly born humpback rising to take its' first breath, only to be confronted by a sewage slick!
Boaters still dump when it's too inconvenient to use the harbour pump trucks as time is money, as possibly when they think no-one is watching - it's just that with pressure they are doing this less often. We also still have to address the problem of whale watching operators who, when whales change direction, simply change their rudder directions and follow the whales until it is time to return to shore to collect the next group of passengers.
The only way they will be forced to stop is by groups like the Marine Connection and PDD exerting continued pressure and calling for more effective legislative protection - so please email today and help us save the whales that frequent the Maui Whale Sanctuary!
... but they still need your help
International support for this effort will no doubt continue to influence whether protective rules will be adopted therefore we urge you to please contact the officials listed on the PDD website to add your support to the campaign and help protect the whales and other marine life in this vulnerable area.
Other sanctuaries have sewage dumping rules as well as fishing regulations, speed limits and propeller protection - the Maui Whale Sanctuary has NONE of these.
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