HONOLULU -- A controversial shark tour business proposed for Hawaii Kai's Maunalua Bay has been called off.

The boat, Snoopy 5, and the shark cage it had onboard are no longer docked at Koko Marina, KITV reported.

The Hawaii Kai community received word that the proposed shark tour was canceled because of overpowering community opposition.

"Oh, gosh. It was such a relief because this entire community and the business community, nobody wants this," said Carol Wilcox of Malama Maunalua.

Community members told KITV that they saw the Snoopy 5 leaving the area with the shark cage onboard.

Another resident said they later saw the shark cage on a truck heading over the Pali highway with its destination unknown.

KITV was told that the owner of the Snoopy 5 has severed its relationship with the man who planned the shark tours.

Iolani Lewis has said he wanted to educate the public about sharks by allowing people to observe and photograph the animals from the cage.

He said he planned to use fish to attract the sharks to the tourist-filled cages more than three miles offshore.

That plan alarmed Hawaii Kai community members who said they feared the practice would bring sharks further into Maunalua Bay and endanger hundreds of boarders, snorkelers and swimmers.

"The very thought of attracting sharks and training them to believe that food is associated with people and food is associated with boats is appalling," said Wilcox.

Although community members are celebrating the cancellation, many said they are still concerned about the future of Maunalua Bay.

"The surprising thing is it got as far as it did. And there's no reason to believe that somebody else won't come back with the same idea," said Wilcox. "So, I think it's up to our community and our elected officials to close the loopholes that would've made this possible."