海角大神

Health officials warned swimmers, surfers and snorkelers in聽Hawaiito stay out of the waters near聽Honolulu Harbor聽after a leak of 1,400 tons of聽molasses聽killed hundreds of fish, potentially attracting sharks.

So many fish had died by Thursday that the聽Hawaii聽Department of Health tripled cleanup crews to three boats, which removed hundreds of fish and were expected to remove thousands more in the coming weeks, said department spokeswoman聽Janice Okubo.

A brown plume of sweet, sticky liquid was spotted seeping into聽Honolulu Harbor聽and Keehi Lagoon on Monday after a ship hauling聽molasses聽to the聽U.S. West Coast聽pulled out to sea.

By Tuesday, a leak was discovered in a聽molasses聽pipeline used to load the聽molasses聽onto ships operated by Matson Navigation Co, the international ocean transport company, the health department said.聽Matson Navigation Company聽is a subsidiary of Matson Inc, which has provided Pacific-wide shipping services since 1882.

Roger Smith, a dive shop owner who went underwater on Wednesday to survey the damage, said it was unlike anything he had seen in 37 years of diving, with brown-tinted water and a layer ofmolasses聽coating the sea floor.

"Everything that was underwater suffocated," Smith said. "Everything climbed out of its hole and the whole bottom was covered with fish, crabs, lobsters, worms, sea fans - anything that was down there was dead."

The health department said in a statement that while聽molasses聽was not directly harmful to people, it was "polluting the water, causing fish to die and could lead to an increase in predator species such as sharks, barracuda and eels."

Okubo said crews were monitoring聽molasses聽levels in the waters to help predict the spread and overall impact of the 223,000-gallon聽spill, which is roughly equivalent to one-third of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Matson acknowledged in a statement that the聽spill聽was caused by a faulty聽molasses-loading pipe, which it said had been fixed. It said聽molasses聽was a sugar product "that will dissipate on its own."

Matson said it regretted the incident and was working with authorities to take steps to ensure it did not happen again.

"We take our role as an environmental steward very seriously," the statement said. "We have a long history in聽Honolulu Harbor聽and can assure all involved that this is a rare incident."

The health department said that "an unusual growth in marine algae" and harmful bacteria was another environmental danger posed by the聽spill.聽Molasses聽is a byproduct of the refining of sugar cane.

The department posted signs on beaches warning people to stay out of the water and not to consume any dead fish found in the area. The brown plume was expected to remain visible for weeks while natural tides and currents slowly flush the area, the health department said.

Tourism officials said they were monitoring the situation but did not believe it would hurt聽Hawaii's primary source of income.

"At this time, we do not foresee any immediate impact on our visitor industry," said聽Mike McCartney, president and chief executive of the聽Hawaii Tourism Authority聽in a statement.聽