Hawaii levied a fine after a grounding incident in which a yacht damaged coral reefs off Maui, and there could still be more punishments.

The owners of a yacht will have to pay more than $117k after it grounded near a Maui conservation district – a fine that critics say is way too low.

According to Hawaii’s Department of Land and Natural Resources, last February while under the control of Jim Jones, the yacht Nakoa detached from its mooring and grounded on the shoreline. In the process it damaged damaged more than 100 coral colonies and more than 1,900 square yards of live rock just outside the Honolua-Mokulēʻia Bay Marine Life Conservation District, on Maui’s west coast.

The $117,472 fine was proposed as a settlement by the Nakoa’s owners, the Albert Trust, and accepted by the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources. Salvage costs, which exceeded $450,000, were covered by the owner’s boat insurance.

However according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, the board wants to continue deliberating a penalty against Jones, who owns a charter service and had entered into a 15-year purchase agreement with the trust to buy the yacht. Several testifiers and board members said at the hearing that the fine was too low. The DLRN’s Division of Aquatic Resources based the fine on its own internal mechanisms for placing monetary value based on what was damaged. According to the newspaper, DAR representatives at the meeting said their own estimates did appear low. Based on state law, the DAR said, the maximum fine that could be levied would be about $1.76 million.

“We realize that for the Maui community, especially those who cherish Honolua Bay, this settlement may be disappointing and not enough,” DLNR chair Dawn Chang said in a statement. “However, under this tentative settlement with the Albert Trust, the State will receive almost $600,000 for the removal of the vessel, coral damage, and administrative fines.  We will continue to aggressively pursue those who harm our cultural and natural resources.”

Tagged coral reef, fine, grounding, Hawaii, Maui

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