On Saturday, state conservation officers cited two people and arrested a third person for allegedly picking opihi along the shoreline in Kailua-Kona on Hawaii Island. 

This comes less than a week after officers cited two men for allegedly collecting opihi from the Pupukea Marine Life Conservation District on Oahu’s North Shore.

What You Need To Know

  • On Saturday, DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers arrested one person for allegedly picking 156 undersized opihi along the shore in Kailua-Kona. He also had a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on a previous opihi-related case from 2023
  • In a seperate incident on the same day and in the same area, officers cited two people for collecting 144 undersized opihi
  • Under Hawaii law, it is illegal to take any opihi shell (with the animal attached), which is less than one and one-fourth inches in diameter

On Saturday, DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers approached 60-year-old James Kanuha of Kailua-Kona, who was allegedly seen picking opihi along the Alli Drive shoreline. He had collected 156 undersized opihi, according to a DLNR news release. Officers told him to return the opihi to a tide pool. 

Officers cited Kanuha for violating a Hawaii law that says it is illegal to take any opihi shell (with the animal attached), which is less than one and one-fourth inches in diameter. He is required to appear in Kona District Court on May 8. 

Officers then used Hawaii’s eBench Warrant System and found Kanuha had a bench warrant for Contempt of Court, for failing to appear on a previous opihi-related case from 2023. In that incident, he was cited by DOCARE officers for violating the same Hawaii law. Officers arrested him and transported him to the Kona Police Station. Kanuha posted $250 bail and was released. 

In a separate incident on Saturday, a DOCARE Marine Patrol Unit spotted people who appeared to be picking opihi along the same shoreline in Kailua-Kona. DOCARE Marine Patrol officers told officers on shore who were patrolling the area, and they approached 54-year-old Theodore Benedicto and 47-year-old Tracy Benedicto, both of Pāhoa, who had on them 144 undersized opihi. 

DOCARE officers issued citations for violating the same Hawaii law — Hawaii Administrative Rules Section 13-92-1(a)(1) OPIHI — mentioned above. The pair is required to appear in Kona District Court on May 15. 

All the opihi were alive and in good condition, according to DLNR. The Benedictos were directed to put the opihi face down in a tide pool along the shoreline where they have a higher chance of reattaching and surviving. 

DOCARE Chief Jason Redulla pointed to this incident as proof of the importance of marine patrol units, which are now on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and Hawaii Island. “The perspective officers get from the ocean is entirely different than what land-based officers may be seeing,” Redulla said.

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