HONOLULU — A DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officer cited 41-year-old Jeffrey Moufa for allegedly spearfishing at night in the Waikiki-Diamond Head Shoreline Fisheries Management Area.
Responding to a complaint DOCARE received around 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, an officer discovered the Honolulu man with 73 fish in the backseat of his car.
Moufa was cited for four violations: spearfishing at night, possession of kala (unicorn fish) and uhu (parrotfish) too small to be legal, and taking more than two uhu at a time. These charges are petty misdemeanors.
Moufa is expected to appear in Honolulu District Court on April 16.
Fishing at the Waikiki-Diamond Head Shoreline Fisheries Management Area is only allowed during even-numbered years and is always prohibited between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The closure area includes the waters between the Ewa wall of the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium and the Diamond Head Lighthouse. It extends from the high-water mark on shore to a minimum seaward distance of 500 yards or to the edge of the fringing reef if one occurs beyond 500 yards.
These rules, established in 1998, allow for the fish to have a break. The Waikiki-Diamond Head area is the only location in the state where a cyclical one-year open and one-year closed management regime is taken.
Fishing is never allowed at the adjacent Waikiki Marine Life Conservation District, which runs from the Ewa wall of the Natatorium to the Kapahulu jetty.
To report violations of fishing regulations, call the DLNR enforcement hotline at 808-643-3567.
Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.