On the opening day of lobster fishing season, state conservation enforcement officers were conducting routine checks on Hawaii Island when they searched a boat and discovered 16 female lobsters, including three with eggs.
It is illegal to take female lobsters. There are additional charges for taking female lobsters carrying eggs.
When the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers made the discovery, they were checking a boat named “Law and Disorder III,” after it returned to Kawaihae Small Boat Harbor. The boat carried four divers who came in with a total of 40 spiny lobsters.
All four men received criminal citations and are expected to appear in court on Oct. 1.
The female lobsters were alive and returned to the ocean.