By Barry Markowitz, special to the Star-Bulletin
State conservation officer Franklin Tomas looks over
four of the five dead green sea turtles.

---

Five green sea turtles
found dead in net

The net's owner could face
a large fine as well as
a jail sentence

By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Five dead green sea turtles were recovered yesterday from a gill net found drifting about 100 yards offshore from Waialee Beach Park on Oahu's North Shore.

"It's a real statement on the weakness of Hawaii's ocean protection program that people feel themselves free to let a 300-foot net drift as it keeps taking ocean life," said Michael Wilson, Board of Land and Natural Resources chairman.

"Unfortunately, we are likely to see this kind of thing becoming more common if the governor's ocean budget gets cut by the Legislature this year."

The five turtles were juveniles, 10-15 years old.

Green sea turtles do not breed until they are 20-25 years of age.

Department information specialist Deborah Ward said the net was legal size, and no live turtles were found and released.

The department responded to a complaint from area residents and located the net at 9 a.m.

Fish and lobsters were also recovered from the net, Ward said.

Green sea turtles are a threatened species, Ward said.

Department enforcement officers are looking for the owner of the net, who faces a $1,000 fine and a one-year jail sentence under state law for killing the green sea turtles.

ipThere is also an additional $500 fine for each turtle killed.

The federal penalty is a $10,000 fine and one-year in prison.