Joan Ocean’s letter on NOAA and Dr. Kenneth Norris

A Letter from Joan Ocean

NOAA says:  Our proposed regulations are based on extensive review and analysis of best scientific evidence available. There is much better scientific research done here at Kealakekua Bay for 20 years:  Thought this would be helpful to know:

Here is a Quote from the highly esteemed Spinner Dolphin Researcher, Dr. Kenneth Norris, a renowned marine mammal biologist, conservationist and naturalist.  Dr. Norris completed pioneering work on dolphin echolocation.  He also helped establish the University of California Natural Reserve System and implemented passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.  Norris was a professor at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz.  This is his quote, page 141, from his 400 page book entitled:   HAWAIIAN SPINNER DOLPHINS, published in 1994.   He and his associate researchers preceded me, living in the same house as I eventually lived in during the 1980’s and 90’s … directly on Kealakekua Bay. — Dr. Norris wrote:

“to fully appreciate the dolphins and their environment, the observer must venture below the surface. These below surface environments are very different from those we experience in air.” 

IN OTHER WORDS:  You cannot get an accurate count of the number of dolphins present when you are looking at them from a boat, as the NOAA researchers are doing.  The majority of dolphins are under water. Therefore, the NOAA ‘research’ regarding diminishing numbers of dolphins in the bays is wrong.  In fact, the numbers of dolphins in the bays and along the Kona coast are increasing every year.

The extensive research, of 20 years, by Dr Norris et al, of the Hawaiian Spinner dolphins included:

a.) direct observation from boats both a 6 passenger boat in the Bay, and they also used a live-aboard boat for deep ocean work with the Spinners up to 6 miles off shore,

b.)  they catalogued dolphins with underwater photography, using swimmers (see page 366), Here is a quote from his seminal research book about this:  “In this situation the dolphins were sometimes remarkably tolerant of a swimmer. Some sequences were obtained with the animals only 1 meter or so away from the swimmer.”

Dr. Norris includes more information about this and I encourage you to read it all. Here I quoted just the last 2 sentences where the researchers used 4 rolls of film per swim, while photographing the Spinners underwater.

c.) 23 times they took aerial photos of the dolphins from an airplane and

d.) and e.)  they also had an observation platform up on the Pali (cliff), in addition to the observation from the Dolphin House overlooking Kealakekua Bay.

The number of Spinner dolphins in Kealakekua Bay at that time ranged per day, on the days they arrived in the Bay, from 20 to 30 (the average number) to an occasional 85 dolphins.  These numbers are consistent with the numbers I documented over the years, printed out, and gave NMFS in October, 2006 when we met at the King Kamehameha Hotel for this same type of NOAA/NMFS community meetings/hearings.  I lived there on Kealakekua Bay from 1988 to 2001. As of today (2016) the numbers of dolphins have increased greatly.

The research of Dr. Ken Norris is WHAT I CALL VALID RESEARCH.  And I continue to peruse his many photos to identify the dolphins I still see today in the Hawaiian Spinner pods here.

Let’s get together to work out a plan that is good for all, for many generations. Do we really want the Federal Government to take control of our beaches and coastal waters?

THANKS, Joan