The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday tentatively approved a $117,000 administrative fine against the trust involved in the yacht that ran aground off West Maui in February, damaging more than 100 coral colonies and over 1,900 square yards of live rock just outside the Honolua-Mokuleia Bay Marine Life Conservation District.

While approving the penalty, Land Board members said they want to continue deliberating on a penalty against the operator of the yacht and his luxury yacht charter service.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources had recommended the environmental fine against Kevin S. Albert, Kimberly L. Albert and the Albert Revocable Trust, and Jim Jones and his Noelani Yacht Charters.

Jones had entered a 15-year purchase agreement with the trust to buy the 94-foot luxury yacht Nakoa.

The proposed fine was deteremined by DAR based on in-house matrices used to assign monetary values to marine species and the area that was damaged.

In its submittal to the Land Board, DAR acknowledged that the settlement “reflects a conservative estimate of the amount required to compensate the State, that is consistent with similar coral damage fines.”

The Land Board’s unanimous vote to accept the settlement with the trust but go back to the public to further assess a penalty against Jones came after public testifiers and board members argued the fine was too lenient.

“This puts us in a much better position because DLNR normally does not go aggressively after vessel owners who ground their vessels and cause damage,” BLNR Chair Dawn Chang said after the board’s decision. “But this matter, because of the public outcry and because of our own concerns — the vessel was so close to the marine life conservation district — we felt compelled to take this necessary action.”

She later said, “(Jones) should not be permitted to operate any commercial activities on our ocean waters. He has not demonstrated that kind of trust. This is not over.”

Chang’s comments followed vocal push-back by members of the public and fellow board members against the proposed $117,000 fine.

“I don’t agree with the final fees … at all. I just think it does injustice to our department,” said board member Doreen Canto, who represents Maui Nui. “This has touched upon a very integral part of our culture and our people. … To come forward with this amount is an insult. Our people deserve so much more.”

The 120-ton Nakoa was moored overnight Feb. 18 and 19 inside Honolua Bay, with Jones, family, friends and crew aboard. The morning of Feb. 20, the yacht detached from its mooring and drifted into the shoreline.

DAR representatives at Friday’s Land Board meeting said it was fortunate the incident took place in an area that didn’t actually have much coral or substrate covered with a lot of marine life, but noted that its own recommended fine did appear low.

“When we were discussing this internally we had similar deliberations. We eventually decided we had to be consistent in the exact same way we’ve pursued previous enforcement actions,” said Charles Taylor, a legal fellow with DAR.

DAR’s assessment noted the maximum fine that could be issued based on state law would have been around $1.76 million.

The higher amount was supported by several public testifiers Friday.

Paele Kiakona, acting president of the Save Honolua Coalition, said he was one of the first to respond to the incident.

“We actually provided the help to pump out the diesel before it leaked onto the reef,” he said. “I am advocating for the maximum fine. Yes, we’re looking at it quantitatively … but we’re not looking at it qualitatively — the emotional damage it has done to the community and people like myself who utilize this area and care deeply for this place.”

He said a substantially larger fine would “send a strong message to communities across Hawaii to show that our state is advocating for the right thing.”

One consequence of the grounding was that the community didn’t have access to the bay for weeks as state and federal officials figured out what to do with the damaged vessel.

“We’ve got to deal with these dummies that come over there and disrespect our cultural rights and our resources,” said Junya Nakoa, who lives near Honolua Bay and visits there often. “During this time, because of the stupidness of these people, we couldn’t go over there.”

Nakoa advocated for the maximum fine as well.

While public sentiment appeared to play a strong role in the Land Board’s decision not to stick to the matrices DAR has used to assess fines before, board member Kaiwi Yoon suggested there should be an internal process to incorporate qualitative damages.

“I personally struggle with the fact that there is no abacus or calculator to begin to quantify how much the cultural resources might cost,” Yoon said after the decision. “I’m hopeful that with this board and this administration we can soon take those steps to contemplate that.”