Haw. Rev. Stat. § 187A-12.5

This is the official text of Haw. Rev. Stat. § 187A-12.5, part of Hawaii’s Rev. Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Hawaii, published by the state as "Rev. Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

General administrative penalties.

Official statutory text

(a) Except as otherwise provided by law, the board is authorized to set, charge, and collect administrative fines and to recover administrative fees and costs, including attorney's fees and costs, or bring legal action to recover administrative fines, fees, and costs, including attorney's fees and costs, or payment for damages or for the cost to correct damages resulting from a violation of subtitle 5 of title 12 or any rule adopted thereunder.

(b) For violations involving threatened or endangered species, the administrative fines shall be as follows:

(1) For a first violation, a fine of not more than $5,000;

(2) For a second violation within five years of a previous violation, a fine of not more than $10,000; and

(3) For a third or subsequent violation within five years of the last violation, a fine of not more than $15,000.

(c) For all other violations the administrative fines shall be as follows:

(1) For a first violation, a fine of not more than $1,000;

(2) For a second violation within five years of a previous violation, a fine of not more than $2,000; and

(3) For a third or subsequent violation within five years of the last violation, a fine of not more than $3,000.

(d) A fine in addition to the fine under subsection (b) may be levied for each specimen of threatened or endangered aquatic life taken, killed, or injured in violation of subtitle 5 of title 12 or any rule adopted thereunder as follows:

(1) For a first violation, up to $5,000 or the retail market value of the specimen, whichever is higher;

(2) For a second violation, up to $10,000 or the retail market value of the specimen, whichever is higher; and

(3) For a third or subsequent violation, up to $15,000 or the retail market value of the specimen, whichever is higher.

(e) A fine in addition to the fine under subsection (c) may be levied for each specimen of all other aquatic life taken, killed, or injured in violation of subtitle 5 of title 12 or any rule adopted thereunder as follows:

(1) For a first violation, up to $1,000 or the retail market value of the specimen, whichever is higher;

(2) For a second violation, up to $2,000 or the retail market value of the specimen, whichever is higher; and

(3) For a third or subsequent violation, up to $3,000 or the retail market value of the specimen, whichever is higher.

(f) Any criminal penalty for any violation of subtitle 5 of title 12 or any rule adopted thereunder shall not be deemed to preclude the State from recovering additional administrative fines, fees, and costs, including attorney's fees and costs. [L 1998, c 243, §1; am L 2022, c 35, §2]

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

Need a lawyer in Hawaii?

Find a Hawaii lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.