Signs warning that “Sharks may be present” were posted on the shoreline at Olowalu on Thursday by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The posting drew mixed reactions, with snorkel and dive tour operators asking why Olowalu had been singled out.

Two Mainland visitors have been bitten by sharks at Olowalu in the past two years, and an Olowalu woman was killed by a shark while swimming there in 1991. After a man was bitten there in January, the state began considering posting a permanent warning.

The signs were posted by the state workers at eight sites on Honoapiilani Highway and one site at Olowalu Landing. They bear the silhouette of a shark and warn, “Shark bites have occurred in this area.”