ʻAlenuihāhā Channel

Want to swim the ʻAlenuihāhā channel?  Click here.

HCSA IS THE FIRST AND ONLY OCEANS 7 GOVERNING BODY TO IMPROVE SWIMMER SAFETY THROUGH MARINE ANIMAL RESEARCH.  THIS RESEARCH, COMPLETED LATE 2023, LED TO ACTIONABLE DATA AND IS NOW THE MODERN SAFETY STANDARD FOR CROSSING DEEP HAWAIIAN CHANNELS LIKE KAIWI AND ʻALENUIHĀHĀ.

HCSA's official position statement regarding the ʻAlenuihāhā, Kaulakahi, Kaʻieʻiewaho  and Molokaʻi (Kaiwi) Channels:

In addition to considering sea and weather conditions and sun exposure duration, a strong recommendation supporting human safety can be made to structure channel swimming so that a swimmer transits through the zoogeographical habitat (the deepest portions of the channel) of Isistius spp. (cookiecutter sharks) during moonlit nights or daytime. 

To learn more check out the recent interview with Steven Minaglia on Hawaiʻi News Now.  Read the 2024 publicly available research about shark attacks in Hawaiian waters made possible by data collected by HCSA and analyzed by Maui Nui Swim here.  Listen to the March 2024 interview on Hawaiʻi Public Radio here.  

HCSA recognizes the best practices developed by Steven Minaglia of Maui Nui Swim for crossing the ʻAlenuihāhā Channel.

Check out his early 2024 strategy to reduce cookiecutter shark bites.

1 Check out the December 2025 paper by University of Hawaiʻi researchers Suca, et al. that further establishes the connection between moonless nights and cookiecutter shark attacks on channel swimmers.

"Muku ka malama, nanahu ka nahunaiki o ka pō.  When the new moon arises, the cookiecutter shark bites."