The Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board will consider a resolution to support a statewide ban on commercial shark tours during its meeting tonight.

The meeting begins at 7 at Hahaione Elementary School.

The resolution is in response to community opposition to a proposed shark tour operation outside Maunalua Bay, and to questions raised about the legality of existing shark tours on Oahu's North Shore.

State and federal laws currently prohibit feeding sharks within 200 miles of shore.

More than 300 people attended a community meeting on the issue at Kamiloiki Elementary on April 16. Opponents of shark tours said that sharks learn to identify the sound of vessels that have chummed the water, that chumming causes sharks to associate feeding with humans, and that sharks have been observed to follow shark tour boats back toward shore.

The Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board resolution calls for "city and state legislation to effectively ban commercial shark tours in Maunalua Bay and throughout the state."

To close existing loopholes, the resolution also calls for legislation to: "(1) prohibit use of public facilities such as parks, piers, ramps, and harbors by shark tour operations; (2) prohibit advertising of commercial shark tours in any print and electronic media; and, (3) prohibit commercial use of shark cages or other devices designed to place humans in close proximity to sharks or within shark habitats."

The public is invited to attend the meeting and offer testimony.