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PACIFIC SCIENCE, VoL XIV, April I960 
it to go free. This practice would speed up the 
handling of the gear when using the recently 
introduced automatic hauler. 
(2) Reduction in the inshore fish popula- 
tion, inducing sharks to frequent shallow waters 
and to become bolder in their search for food. 
There is not much doubt that the reef fish popu- 
lation is at a low level of abundance because of 
both commercial and sport fishing pressure. The 
latter must have increased greatly with the in- 
troduction of SCUBA diving gear. 
(3) Increase in shark population for some 
unknown reason. Possibly an increase in abun- 
dance occurred following the war period of 
reduced effort in the longline fishery. 
There appears to have been an increase in 
shark attacks during the past 10 years as com- 
pared with a previous 60-year period. Of the 
3 (perhaps 6) known fatalities since 1886, 3 
(including the present) have occurred in the 
last 10 years. Of the 11 incidents involving 
injury by sharks since 1886, 5 have occurred 
in the last 10 years. Whether the increase is 
due to the increased number of swimmers and 
consequent increased number of exposures is 
unknown. 
PUBLIC REACTION 
There was immediate and widespread concern 
over the shark incident, together with public 
demand for action to reduce the hazard. Boun- 
ties were offered by a private individual (Bill 
Wills, $ 20 each for 10 sharks) and by a radio 
station (KPOA, $100 per shark over 15 feet, 
$25 per smaller shark for sharks caught until the 
end of December in the vicinity of the tragedy ) . 
An action program for reducing shark abun- 
dance on a continuing basis was proposed by 
the Board of Agriculture and Forestry and en- 
dorsed by several windward Oahu associations 
on December 18, 1958. Its activation is con- 
tingent on funds to be raised by public subscrip- 
tion. The plans call for a one-vessel, scientifically 
directed shark fishing program embracing all 
inshore waters of Oahu. Should this become a 
reality, efforts will be made to not only control 
the local shark population but at the same time 
to gain information on the species composition, 
abundance, distribution, life history, and be- 
havior of the sharks. 
The Billy Weaver Shark Control Program was 
started April 1, 1959, using the vessel "Holo- 
kahana I” with Fred J. Inouye as master. Using 
three units of 24-hook long-line gear, 595 
sharks were caught from the inshore waters of 
Oahu during the remainder of the year. Of 
these, 71 were tiger sharks. 
