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No Aloha: Feds Propose to Ban Swimming With Dolphins in Hawaii

© Flickr / International Fund for AnimDolphins can be as picky about their friends as a high school cheerleader.
Dolphins can be as picky about their friends as a high school cheerleader. - Sputnik International
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A federal agency on Tuesday proposed a ruling to prohibit swimming with dolphins in Hawaii, claiming that companies operating dolphin tours negatively affect wildlife.

Swimming with dolphins in the wild is a popular attraction among tourists and even some locals. But what's fun for humans is a cause of stress for the intelligent marine creatures, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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Hawaii's spinner dolphins hunt fish and small crustaceans that surface from the ocean depths after sunset. Having spent the night feeding offshore, the dolphins return to shallow bays to find safe haven to rest. But although nearshore waters effectively protect the nocturnal dolphin species from tiger sharks, the waters do not save them from humans.

Tour companies on the islands of Kauai, Oahu, Maui and the island of Hawaii take customers to dolphin resting areas every day. The creatures are thus deprived of rest and burn calories at a higher rate, the federal agency claims.

"All of these things can contribute to a reduction of fitness over time — this kind of chronic level of stress. That's what we're concerned about," said the assistant regional administrator of the agency's protected resources division for the Pacific Islands, Ann Garrett.

The agency is proposing that swimmers and vessels stay a minimum of 50 yards from dolphins.

The agency is set to hold public meetings on the proposal next month and expects to make a final decision on the regulations next year.

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