HANALEI — Self-proclaimed Kauai “pirate” Stephen Koehne will have to pay a $15,000 civil penalty for offering commercial boat tours along the Na Pali Coast without the proper licensing between Jan. 12 and Sept 22, 2017.
That’s according to the state Board of Land and Natural Resources’ DLNR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, which reached a settlement with Koehne on Friday. DOBOR brought civil enforcement action against Koehene on Nov. 9, 2017.
According to DOBOR, Koehne had been taking passengers on commercial boat tours but claiming they were “friends of friends.” Despite being warned that his actions would be considered illegal commercial activity, Koehne continued to advertise and operate boat tours along Kauai’s Na Pali Coast.
“DOBOR implemented these limits on commercial activity through Hawaii Administrative Rules to address the community’s concerns, and we are very satisfied with the outcome of this enforcement action,” said DOBOR Administrator Ed Underwood.
“DOBOR will be able to show the community that DLNR hears their concerns and is taking steps to enforce commercial activity violations. We hope that today’s settlement puts an end to this blatant violation of the rules,” Underwood added.
In a separate incident, and just after the mid-April floods stranded tourists and residents in the Wainiha and Haena areas on Kauai, Koehne was arrested on the suspicion of extortion in the first degree, robbery in the second degree and terroristic threatening in the second degree, according to a county press release received April 20.
According to the preliminary investigation, police were informed an operator of a boat vessel was offering rides to those who were evacuating the Wainiha area. The man reportedly stopped the boat in the middle of the ocean and demanded the riders to pay $200 or they would have to swim back to shore.
“Those conducting illegal activities will be held accountable for their actions,” said Kauai Deputy Chief Michael Contrades in an April 21 article about the incident in TGI. “With that said, we understand that tensions are high right now, but we hope that our community can move forward and focus on the overwhelming support that has also occurred on Kauai during this time of recovery.”
Investigations into the April incident are still underway.
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Jessica Else, environmental reporter, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.
Sound’s to me the courts failed miserably to get the message through to this man you can’t just break the law and get away with it. Nine months of “Pirating” with a 15000 dollar penalty sound’s like he made some good money and payed very little. We don’t need to hang this pirate but confiscating his boat, truck and trailer might put an end to his disregard for the law and well being of the other citizens of our island
do the math, 225 dollars per pax x 12 pax x 6 tours per week is $16200, times 15 weeks a season is 243000 per season. No insurance, no ramp fees, no taxes, no general excise taxes. over a 4 year period that is $972000 . Is the state tax department going to take action? The IRS? The dlnr has reached a settlement with this man, but has failed the legal operators miserably. as well they have knowingly , yes knowingly, let this drag on for years basically allowing visitors to be riding in an uninspected uninsured pirate ship. Seems to me that he’s not a pirate he’s just financially savvy and all operators who follow the rules should learn from him. Its fact , he killed it and is laughing, while legal operators are shaking their heads. On Kauai its better to ask forgiveness than permission.
And how is this any different than the illegal vacation rentals that have continued the thrive with profits for many years. Mr. Koehler likely had no cousins or uncles or friends in high places in the county or state. Or maybe he did at one time.