Department of Land and Natural Resources

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES
News Release

NEIL ABERCROMBIE GOVERNOR

WILLIAM J. AILA JR, CHAIRPERSON

For Immediate News Release October 7, 2013

HAU‘ULA FISHERMAN SENTENCED FOR MULTIPLE
FISHING VIOLATIONS IN WINDWARD WATERS

HONOLULU — A Hau‘ula fisherman pled no contest on Sept. 26, 2013, to multiple fishing violations in Kane‘ohe District Court and was sentenced to 213 hours of community service work, in lieu of a $1,500 fine, plus one year of probation.

Travis K. Fonoimoana, 34, was cited by a Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) officer on Feb. 2, 2013, on the shoreline in Punalu‘u for violating Hawai‘i Administrative Rules (HAR) 13-75-12.4(a)(2)(B) relating to laynets, HAR 13-95-10 for ‘O‘io, and HAR 13-95-23(a) for Moi.

He was found possessing and using four laynets longer than 125 feet in length and with less than 2 ¾ inches stretched mesh, as well as for taking several ‘o‘io under 14 inches and several moi under 11 inches — which are the minimum legal sizes.

The state asked that the fisherman’s laynets be destroyed, but the Kane‘ohe District Court judge returned it to the owner with a warning that he must comply with the terms and conditions of probation.

For more information on fishing regulations, refer to DLNR Division of Aquatic Resources’ website located at https://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar.

“Enforcement of laynet use is crucial in DLNR’s mission to ensure the sustainability of marine resources through compliance with state rules in Hawaiian waters, and to ensure that endangered species are not harmed,” said William J. Aila, Jr., DLNR chairperson.

 

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Deborah Ward,
DLNR Public Information Specialist
Phone: (808) 587-0320