Abstract
There is a limited understanding of which shark species use the waters around Lāna'i as habitat or move through them during migrations, and even less is known about the locations and seasons associated with the presence of various species. In order to mitigate this lack of information, a community-based shark-sighting database has been created to identify shark species seen around the island and attempt to correlate these sightings with locations and times of year. A comprehensive literature review unearthed information on shark species in the region, explored shark telemetry, abundance, and photographic identification studies in Hawai'i, and provided information on best practices for community involvement in marine science. From this, the current project was refined to increase community participation while mitigating common citizen-scientist limitations. Project outputs consist of databases for sightings data and mapping, marketing content to recruit community members to participate in the shark-sighting submission process, dissemination information for the local community and nearby dive operators, a project website for submitting shark-sighting data and as an interface between the community and foundation staff, and educational content for shark identification classes. The aim of the project is to understand the various species present, habitat use, and migration patterns of Lāna'i’s shark populations, which have implications for conservation and management efforts.