Teh One Who Knocks
11-03-2011, 11:08 AM
The San Francisco Chronicle
http://i.imgur.com/M1GgW.jpg
North Shore pro surfer Jamie O’Brien is apparently very concerned about the spread of fibropapillomatosis among sea turtles, but since the online posting last week of the photo above, in which he seems to be riding one of the creatures, he’s also been riding a wave of controversy. Not only may O’Brien have violated state and federal laws against harassing sea turtles, he violated the sensibilities of those who consider the Hawaiian honu to be an ‘aumakua (a kind of ancestral guardian spirit) — if not their family’s ‘aumakua — and countless more concerned by the likelihood of clueless visitors imitating his stunt.
In Hawai’i, the honu population is considered “threatened,” i.e. in somewhat better shape than “endangered,” with global warming and the disfiguring disease remaining as two key threats. After the photo appeared on the Hawaii News Now Facebook page, unleashing a torrent of online criticism, O’Brien wrote on his Tumbr blog:
If you are here with rage, read below. And help build the storm. … Fibropapillomatosis of sea turtles is probably caused by a herpes-type virus, and is causing an epidemic amongst sea turtles. Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) was first discovered in 1938. FP is a disease marked by proliferation of benign but debilitating cutaneous fibropapillomas and occasional visceral alien. While much research has been and continues to be done to find the causes and remedies for FP, there is a new and alarming development. Fibropapilloma tumors are starting to show up on other sea turtle species in increasing numbers! If the same pattern of infection occurs as was seen with green turtles, it will not be long before FP outstrips even homo sapiens as the single greatest threat to marine turtles.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) protect the sea green turtles from harassment, with fines of up to nearly $14,000. While there’s no legal limit on how far away you should stay away (as there are with whales), the latter’s Division of Aquatic Resources Web site notes:
… getting close to these animals may constitute a federal or state violation if the animal is disturbed or if your action has the potential to disturb its natural behavioral patterns. NOAA and DLNR recommend, for your safety and the animals’ protection, that everyone stay at least 150 feet from all marine mammals and sea turtles. If maintaining this distance isn’t possible, keep safety in mind and move away from the animal as carefully as possible, avoiding sudden movements and other actions that might disturb the animal. For wildlife viewers, please enjoy from a distance — use binoculars and telephoto lenses to get the best views without disturbing the wildlife.
Turtle with fibropapilloma, from Jamie O’Brien’s Tumblr blog / Copyright Ursula Keuper-Bennett and Peter Bennett
I’m inclined to believe that O’Brien planned to raise awareness with the riding photo, which appears to have been professionally shot by Brent Bielmann. Yet I’m still dismayed by it. Yes, I know Hawaiians used to eat sea turtles, and puppies, for that matter, but cultures do change: As one Native Hawaiian woman on Kaua‘i told me, “We used to eat turtle soup, and it was delicious, but we didn’t know then that they were dying out.” And sometimes cultures don’t change: Whether or not you believe in ‘aumakua, it’s good to show respect to those who do when you’re in their home.
Moreover, whether or not that particular turtle was physically harmed, holding one underwater, however briefly, seems cruelly stress-inducing. And the potential for imitation shouldn’t be minimized. At marine reserves and volunteer-monitored beaches in Hawai’i, you’ll usually see signs against disturbing marine life and reefs. But on nearly every trip to a popular snorkeling area (including last month’s visit to Kahalu‘u on the Big Island), I’ve seen someone standing on reefs and heard someone boast how close they got to a turtle. Sure, they sometimes swim right up to you — I once had a sea turtle unexpectedly graze my legs from behind in the Hilton Waikoloa lagoon, and long ago was encircled by three swimming near “Turtle Town” off Maui — but that just means you stay still or move away. You don’t touch the turtle, and you certainly don’t ride it.
Of course, more suggestive interpretations of what O’Brien appears to be doing with the turtle exist (though I note the rider has his swim trunks on) — please don’t do that, either. Although the caption for his blog photo of a turtle with bulging fibropapilloma includes the phrase “unknown cause, unknown cure,” his Oct. 28 post on Twitter was more explicit: “Lesson 4 Today: Heavy petting with turtles may lead to fortuitous relations with the reptile… & the forever disease.”
Although his Twitter pic shows him burning a “rule book,” the surfer may be sick of the controversy now. Unavailable for interviews to the local and surf press, O’Brien tweeted Oct. 30, “Not hiding. RIDING!!!!!!!!!!!” His message for today: “Context is EVERYTHING!!!”
http://i.imgur.com/M1GgW.jpg
North Shore pro surfer Jamie O’Brien is apparently very concerned about the spread of fibropapillomatosis among sea turtles, but since the online posting last week of the photo above, in which he seems to be riding one of the creatures, he’s also been riding a wave of controversy. Not only may O’Brien have violated state and federal laws against harassing sea turtles, he violated the sensibilities of those who consider the Hawaiian honu to be an ‘aumakua (a kind of ancestral guardian spirit) — if not their family’s ‘aumakua — and countless more concerned by the likelihood of clueless visitors imitating his stunt.
In Hawai’i, the honu population is considered “threatened,” i.e. in somewhat better shape than “endangered,” with global warming and the disfiguring disease remaining as two key threats. After the photo appeared on the Hawaii News Now Facebook page, unleashing a torrent of online criticism, O’Brien wrote on his Tumbr blog:
If you are here with rage, read below. And help build the storm. … Fibropapillomatosis of sea turtles is probably caused by a herpes-type virus, and is causing an epidemic amongst sea turtles. Sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) was first discovered in 1938. FP is a disease marked by proliferation of benign but debilitating cutaneous fibropapillomas and occasional visceral alien. While much research has been and continues to be done to find the causes and remedies for FP, there is a new and alarming development. Fibropapilloma tumors are starting to show up on other sea turtle species in increasing numbers! If the same pattern of infection occurs as was seen with green turtles, it will not be long before FP outstrips even homo sapiens as the single greatest threat to marine turtles.
However, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) protect the sea green turtles from harassment, with fines of up to nearly $14,000. While there’s no legal limit on how far away you should stay away (as there are with whales), the latter’s Division of Aquatic Resources Web site notes:
… getting close to these animals may constitute a federal or state violation if the animal is disturbed or if your action has the potential to disturb its natural behavioral patterns. NOAA and DLNR recommend, for your safety and the animals’ protection, that everyone stay at least 150 feet from all marine mammals and sea turtles. If maintaining this distance isn’t possible, keep safety in mind and move away from the animal as carefully as possible, avoiding sudden movements and other actions that might disturb the animal. For wildlife viewers, please enjoy from a distance — use binoculars and telephoto lenses to get the best views without disturbing the wildlife.
Turtle with fibropapilloma, from Jamie O’Brien’s Tumblr blog / Copyright Ursula Keuper-Bennett and Peter Bennett
I’m inclined to believe that O’Brien planned to raise awareness with the riding photo, which appears to have been professionally shot by Brent Bielmann. Yet I’m still dismayed by it. Yes, I know Hawaiians used to eat sea turtles, and puppies, for that matter, but cultures do change: As one Native Hawaiian woman on Kaua‘i told me, “We used to eat turtle soup, and it was delicious, but we didn’t know then that they were dying out.” And sometimes cultures don’t change: Whether or not you believe in ‘aumakua, it’s good to show respect to those who do when you’re in their home.
Moreover, whether or not that particular turtle was physically harmed, holding one underwater, however briefly, seems cruelly stress-inducing. And the potential for imitation shouldn’t be minimized. At marine reserves and volunteer-monitored beaches in Hawai’i, you’ll usually see signs against disturbing marine life and reefs. But on nearly every trip to a popular snorkeling area (including last month’s visit to Kahalu‘u on the Big Island), I’ve seen someone standing on reefs and heard someone boast how close they got to a turtle. Sure, they sometimes swim right up to you — I once had a sea turtle unexpectedly graze my legs from behind in the Hilton Waikoloa lagoon, and long ago was encircled by three swimming near “Turtle Town” off Maui — but that just means you stay still or move away. You don’t touch the turtle, and you certainly don’t ride it.
Of course, more suggestive interpretations of what O’Brien appears to be doing with the turtle exist (though I note the rider has his swim trunks on) — please don’t do that, either. Although the caption for his blog photo of a turtle with bulging fibropapilloma includes the phrase “unknown cause, unknown cure,” his Oct. 28 post on Twitter was more explicit: “Lesson 4 Today: Heavy petting with turtles may lead to fortuitous relations with the reptile… & the forever disease.”
Although his Twitter pic shows him burning a “rule book,” the surfer may be sick of the controversy now. Unavailable for interviews to the local and surf press, O’Brien tweeted Oct. 30, “Not hiding. RIDING!!!!!!!!!!!” His message for today: “Context is EVERYTHING!!!”