Land board fines Maui tour operator more than half a million dollars for coral reef damage
By AUDREY MCAVOY
Associated Press
The state land board has fined a Maui tour boat operator more than a half million dollars for damaging coral reef at Makena Bay.
The board found Makena Boat Partners destroyed hundreds of coral specimens when it dropped anchor in the bay off Maui last year.
Lawyer Russell Kim, representing Sidney Akiona of Makena Boat Partners, immediately appealed the decision by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Kim says the case should be heard before a Circuit Court jury, not the land board.
Akiona disputes the state's conclusion that the reef was valuable.
Board member Jerry Edlao says protection of coral reefs has become a priority. He says he hopes more businesses will become aware of the issue.
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More details will be posted later today.
