"Beginning next month, swimming with spinner dolphins in Hawai´i will become a thing of the past.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, finalized a rule Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021, under the Marine Marine Mammal Protection Act that prohibits swimming with, approaching, or remaining within 50 yards of a Hawaiian spinner dolphin. It goes into effect on Oct. 28, 2021.

The rule applies to any vessel, person, or object (including all boats, canoes, stand-up paddleboards, drones, or any other means) that is within two nautical miles from shore in the main Hawaiian Islands and in designated waters bounded by the islands of Lāna‘i, Maui, and Kahoʻolawe.

The rule also prohibits approach by “interception,” or placing a vessel, person, or other objects in the path of a spinner dolphin so that the dolphin approaches to within a distance of 50 yards."

Max Dible reports for Big Island Now September 29, 2021. [2]