Sharks + Rays

This is where our story began, a love affair with the long-misunderstood shark. For Hawaiians, sharks (mano) are seen as a symbol of power and protection rather than as a menace. Powerful apex predators, sharks live in a world of hunt or be hunted, and thus evolved to be some of the most efficient predators we know. While some sharks are reef dwellers, most are deep sea, or pelagic creatures. Wherever they live, they function to keep the seas healthy – culling the sick and weak, thereby producing stronger fish stock, which directly affect the health of reefs and oceans. Healthy seas affects our weather which affects our crops. Saving and protecting sharks help not just the seas, but us on land as well. Powerful, independent and fierce, sharks are a force to be admired and celebrated, but definitely also protected. Along the way we branched out to their much-loved relations the rays (hihimanu, hahalua, lupe). For scale, here are our sharks by size.