Federal agency considering banning swimming with dolphins in Hawaii

By next year, federal regulators could enact new rules preventing people from getting within 50 yards of spinner dolphins off the shores of Hawaii, putting an end to popular tourist activities like swimming with dolphins.

The National Marine Fisheries Service says that spinner dolphins, which feed at night and usually gather in the same general area every day, are not getting enough rest and are becoming stressed due to so many people taking boat tours that drop them off next to pods. The dolphins sometimes appear to be awake even when they're asleep, as half of their brain remains awake so they can surface and breathe. Dozens of companies operate dolphin tours on Maui, Kauai, Oahu, and the Big Island, and because 98 percent of spinner dolphins in Hawaii are just off the shore, it's easy for them to find the animals. The ban would cover waters out to two nautical miles, The Associated Press reports.

Ann Garrett, assistant regional administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service's protected resources division for the Pacific Islands, told AP the dolphins are constantly on high alert because people are always approaching them, and scientists are afraid the stress might interfere with their ability to reproduce. The agency won't make a final decision on a ban until next year, but Garrett says if it is enacted, it won't put people out of business. "They could still do snorkeling for other reasons — it's just not setting their people within a pod of dolphins or within 50 yards of a dolphin," she said.

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