The petition was by initiated French Honorary Consul and long time PADI dive instructor Mandy Etpison and was submitted last week to Koror State Governor Yositaka Adachi.
The petition also questioned the permit issued to MicronesianShark Foundation DBA Fish n Fins, it said that while the national government issued a two-month permit, Koror State issued aone year permit, while the project is supposed to take place for two years. The petition said the permits are inconsistent.The Shark tagging project aims to tag 30 grey reef sharks and track their movements.The project makes use of sonar tags used with acoustic beacons.These sharks are then “chummed/baited and caught on hooks and brought up to the surface to be tagged,” the petition said.“This is not about who is doing it, it’s about the dive industry as a whole. Palau’s reefs and Grey reef sharks should be left alone as experiencing a daily invasion of divers. Baiting, hooking and cutting/tagging themmay alter their behavior towards divers and may make them more aggressive,” she said.Etpison added, “no one involved in the dive/tour industry wants to see a shark attack on divers here.”The petition said that rusty bars and acoustic beacons have been cemented into the live coral reefs on nine locations at major dive sites like Blue Corner,Blue Holes, New Drop-off , Siaes and Ulong Channel.“They are visible to tourists diving there and an eyesore to people who wants to enjoy the unspoiled reefs of Palau,” the petition said.Etpison said that “we are not against scientific research to monitor the sharks’ movements, but it should be done properly and monitored by scientists, and not be used as a marketing tool for a dive operator.”The petition also raised concern about the need for the project and that it is not clear whether there is a benefit for Palau for this research to be done in top tourist dive sites.She added that “since these reef sharks are found on every reef in Palau, there is no benefit to Koror State or the rest of the dive industry to have this done at our prime tourist sites.”Etpison said they are waiting for Adachi’s response on the matter.
