Set off the coast of Ka Lea, the southernmost point of Big Island, Hawai’i, with the Kilauea Caldera smoldering fire in the distance, a pair of tiger sharks circle over a vast long-line of comrades hooked and at various stages of demise. Spirits guard and wait for them overhead in the moon filled sky.
A contradiction of love placed by a lei over the dorsal fin and the gaffe hook piercing and dragging inches away.
Hooks, lures and lines snapped from futile fishermans’ poles attest to other attempts at capture once venturing past the protective waters of the Islands. Tiger sharks are legendary and sacred in Hawai’ian culture. They are ruthlessly hunted globally in every ocean by hundreds of thousands each year.
No laws are enforced or even exist to stop the madness.
Sharks of all species are under great threat and are non-negotiable critical guardians of balance and life at sea; having done so without interruption for over 450 million years.