Last November, the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement cited nine men for illegally fishing in the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District.
On Tuesday, a circuit court judge sentenced five of the poachers to perform 50 hours of community service, to pay fines between $500 to $1,000 and to forfeit illegal spearguns.
The four remaining alleged poachers now have bench warrants for failure to appear in court, according to a Department of Land and Natural Resources news release.
Residents and conservation advocates have been closely watching the “Waimea Bay Nine” case. Denise Antolini, President of Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea, a non-profit that works to protect Waimea Bay, attended Tuesday’s hearing.
"The sentencing of these five defendants by the Hawaii Environmental Court sends a strong message of punishment in response to the nighttime poaching of large quantities of fish illegally taken from the MLCD,” said Antolini. “It also sends a message about restorative justice through the community service program administered by the Judiciary.”
The program allows qualified misdemeanor defendants to work on public service projects. Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea is one place where defendants may conduct community service work.
“We have offered to supervise some of the hours that these defendants must perform in the field as a way to have them give back to the resource that they damaged, and to educate them through hands-on experience about the importance of respecting and protecting this precious state marine reserve,” said Antolini.
Antolini, a retired University of Hawaii law professor, helped develop the environmental court concept.
“Now we hope the remaining four defendants will come forward and have their day in court,” said Antolini.
During Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, Deputy Attorney General David Williams noted the poachers took 152 fish at night, when the sea creatures were sleeping. These fish represent thousands of potential eggs, which would have assisted in the recovery of fish stocks.
“Under these circumstances, the defendants were basically pillaging across the conservation district,” said Williams.
