Coast Guard suspends search after receiving distress call
HONOLULU — The U.S. Coast Guard has called off a search for a possible vessel in distress, prompted by a mysterious mayday call.
The Sector Honolulu command center received a three-second distress call Saturday afternoon from a male voice, saying “335 Marlin. Mayday, mayday. Orca.”
No more distress calls were heard, and the caller did not respond to messages from the Coast Guard. The call was tracked to an area about 4 miles (6.4 kilometers) northwest of the Kona airport on the Big Island.
The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Gerzcak vessel and a helicopter crew searched for the possible boat in distress. The Hawaii County Fire Department’s helicopter, a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft and a Royal Australian Navy oiler named the HMAS Success joined the search. The military vehicles are participating in a multinational naval exercise the U.S. is hosting.
The Coast Guard said several fishing tournaments were being held over the weekend, so authorities contacted all the tournament directors. None reported any missing boats, and the Big Island fire department did not have any missing person reports Saturday.
The search was suspended after about eight hours as no reports were received of swimmers or boats overdue, the Coast Guard said.
Whale shark entangled in heavy line spotted off Maui coast
HONOLULU — A young whale shark entangled in a heavy gauge line was spotted twice last week off the coast of Maui.
The line is wrapped around the endangered animal’s mid-section, cutting into the large sea creature, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said.
The juvenile whale shark, which officials described as “somewhat emaciated,” was observed on July 8 near Olowalu. It was spotted again Thursday near Molokini, off of Maui’s south shore.
A group of divers photographed the animal, reporting it to be about 20 feet (6 meters) in length. Hollis Romanchik, of ProDiver Maui, said she got a close-up view of the line threatening the animal’s life.
“It looked like (the line) got on it when it was a lot younger because you can see the scarring and indentation on its body from it growing around it, but it looks like it got caught in it when it was much smaller,” Romanchik told KHON-TV.
Romanchik attempted to use a knife to free the animal.
“I tried to make a cut on the line, but it was a really thick line, probably an inch thick,” Romanchik said. “But as soon as I put my hand on the animal, it jerked away.”
Officials ask those who spot the whale shark to report its location to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A team from NOAA’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program is trained to remove such entanglements and may try to remove the line if conditions and resources allow, officials said.
Kauai mayor considers lifting ban on vacation rentals
LIHUE, Kauai — Kauai’s mayor is considering lifting a ban on legal transient vacation rentals on the flood-ravaged north shore if owners agree to house some of the families displaced by severe flooding and landslides.
Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. said Friday the county would use $100,000 in emergency relief funds to pay for the temporary housing and would ask for discounted rates.
“I think it would be a win-win,” he said. “We can get some of our north shore residents out of their tents and cars and we can help the legal transient vacation unit owners get back to business.”
A total of 15 families were displaced when their homes were destroyed in mid-April.
Carvalho issued an executive order in May prohibiting vacation rentals from operating in Lumahai, Wainiha and Haena so the county could concentrate on helping residents affected by the disaster. The order was expected to stand until at least October.
Kauai Visitors Bureau Executive Director Sue Kanoho said giving transient vacation unit owners a chance to recoup some of the revenue lost over the last three months would be “huge for them.”
The proposed arrangement might also help owners who don’t qualify for individual assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency because their property is a second home, Carvalho said
While the state’s original application for flooding assistance for Honolulu and Kauai was denied, officials from the state, the counties and FEMA worked together on a new one that was approved last month.
Up to $410,231 is set aside for Kauai individuals and households, while Honolulu’s allocation is $579,446, said Cindy McMillan, spokeswoman for Gov. David Ige.
Carvalho estimated each qualifying Kauai household would get about $34,000 for housing assistance and other needs related to their primary homes.
The county doesn’t have an official count of how many transient vacation rentals are in the Lumahai, Wainiha and Haena region or how many are second homes or investment properties.