Scoping meetings for spinner dolphin conservation
I'm on Maui right now, last night was the scoping meeting for the proposed rules to limit human-dolphin interactions. All in all it went well, and was consistent with the other meetings. Not as positive as Oahu, but we figured as such.
I got cornered by an attendee of the meeting and chastised for not doing enough in these meetings to educate people about the science. Sadly, the science is in a poor state with most of it remaining unpublished, and possibly unpublishable - this likely includes the work conducted by my verbal assailant (his work is certainly unpublished).
So how do you explain to eager people, with their hearts in the right place, the intricate nature of the process and the rigor required to support any rule making. One more thing to add to list in terms of public education.
Tonight is the Big Island. It's going to be a gong show.
More soon.
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