State conservation enforcement officers recently cited four Big Island residents for illegal take of lobsters on the opening day of lobster fishing season.
As DOCARE officers were conducting inspections at the Kawaihae and Puakō Small Boat Harbors, they checked the vessel Law and Disorder III, upon return to its slip at Kawaihae.
DOCARE says the boat carried four divers who came in with a total of 40 spiny lobsters, 16 females, 3 with eggs.
It is illegal to possess female lobsters and there are separate charges for keeping females carrying eggs.
The divers involved include:
- Jacob Lindsay, 46, of Kailua-Kona
- Taylor Thronas, 45, of Kamuela
- Roger Hancock, 37, of Kamuela
- William Merle, 35, of Waikoloa
All of the female lobsters were alive at the time of confiscation and returned to the ocean without incident.
DLNR Photo