Tunnels Reef on the north shore of Kauai is a magical place to scuba dive and surf. It is actually a sunken volcano. You surf along the outer edge of this volcano where it is only a few feet deep but drops down to the bottom at 50 feet deep. Under the surf are large lava tubes that lase through the reef all the way back under the beach. The reef sharks sleep in these caves during the day and sometimes large tiger sharks patrol the reef looking to eat sea turtles of monk seas. Occasionally someone gets bit by a shark at Tunnels accidental while it is chasing its intended prey. This is what happened to Bethany Hamilton. I have been diving with these sharks for many years and have never been bothered by them until recently when an aggressive 10 foot Galapagos shark moved into Tunnels Reef. This big shark hunts live healthy fish and has been stealing fish from spear fishermen like my self and it has also been chasing surfers right up onto the reef! I am a marine biologist and have been doing a long term ciguatera fish poisoning study at Tunnels spearing the invasive peacock grouper (roi) and this new large fast shark is making it very difficult for me to do my work!
Aloha,
Terry Lilley,
Hanalei HI