12 Divers Cited During Night Fishing Outings on O‘ahu

Twelve O‘ahu divers were cited by officers from the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resource Enforcement over the weekend for not having required equipment and/or possession of under-sized fish. 

In the first case, DOCARE officers on patrol around 11 p.m. on Saturday, spotted lights in the water just off Wailupe Beach Park in east O‘ahu. They followed the divers from there to Kahala Beach and waited for them to come to shore.

Six men were cited for not having illuminated dive flags and for having under-sized fish. Officers said the divers had multiple regulated and unregulated fish, including more than two dozen undersized kala.  

All the divers were given educational information about fishing and diving regulations and have court appearances scheduled for early January. The six divers cited at Kahala range in age from 18 to 53.

Earlier in the evening, at around 7:15 p.m., a windward district DOCARE officer, also on routine patrol, spotted several dive lights near the west end of Kahana Bay. By the time these divers exited the water around 8:30 p.m. another DOCARE officer had responded, and they inspected the catch of a total of nine divers. Six of them were found to be in possession of undersized kala. A one-pound octopus was also released back into the water as part of the enforcement effort. These men have court appearances set for Dec. 23. The six divers cited at Kahana Bay range in age from 22 to 35.

“As summer swells on O‘ahu’s south shore winds down more divers and fisherman are expected to be in or near the water,” department officials said in a press release. “DOCARE encourages safe and responsible ocean activities and is encouraging anyone who sees violations to call 643-DLNR or report via the DLNRTip app.”