HAR 13-75-8(a)

Unlawful to pursue, take or kill any fish, crustacean, mollusk, turtle, or marine mammal with firearms, except tuna and billfish that have been gaffed, and sharks, in the state with firearms as defined in section 134-1, HRS.

HRS 134-1 is your basic Hawaii gun laws

http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/rules/ch75.pdf

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol03_ch0121-0200d/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0001.HTM

why do they get to decide what is realistic in purpose?

I just posted the HAR/HRS you can make your own decision on that.

What if you live on the boat?

Let me just answer my own question.

"all firearms shall be confined to the possessor's place of business, residence, or sojourn"

HAR 13-75-8(a)

Unlawful to pursue, take or kill any fish, crustacean, mollusk, turtle, or marine mammal with firearms, except tuna and billfish that have been gaffed, and sharks, in the state with firearms as defined in section 134-1, HRS.

HRS 134-1 is your basic Hawaii gun laws

http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/rules/ch75.pdf

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol03_ch0121-0200d/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0001.HTM

I guess I was wrong.  Thanks for that research.   

Same answer to "what if you live in the car?"   

I don't know if that is true, you can buy house boats and slips to live on, can you not?  It just because hawaii has a no living in a vehicle law.  Is there a no living in a large yacht?

Firearms are legal on boats, including out to the 12 mile limit. It is not illegal to have firearms in international waters. It is illegal to bring firearms into some countries. In other countries, where it isn't illegal, boaters are usually required to disclose what firearms they have onboard and the authorities in that country (usually) will keep them secured while in port or in their territorial waters and return them when you depart their country.

Besides vehicles, boats can also be your place of sojourn.....

Too many laws....

Let me just answer my own question.

"all firearms shall be confined to the possessor's place of business, residence, or sojourn"

To expand on this a bit.  Here is a definition of "sojourn."

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sojourn

HAR 13-75-8(a)

Unlawful to pursue, take or kill any fish, crustacean, mollusk, turtle, or marine mammal with firearms, except tuna and billfish that have been gaffed, and sharks, in the state with firearms as defined in section 134-1, HRS.

HRS 134-1 is your basic Hawaii gun laws

http://hawaii.gov/dlnr/dar/rules/ch75.pdf

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/vol03_ch0121-0200d/HRS0134/HRS_0134-0001.HTM

I was wondering what type of Firearm & Caliber would be sufficient to fulfill this purpose, for using on Tuna/Billfish?...

Glad this thread got bumped up.  I am surprised many fishermen I know basically don't know shit.  I also asked a former DLNR guy and he said it was not legal to have. 

Just saw this thread and thought I would put in my 2 cents. In most cases, state law only goes out 3 miles from the base line. Generally a country's territorial seas extend out to 12 miles from the base line (federal laws). Lots of laws regarding the environment can extend out to 200 miles from the base line.

And just from a Coast Guard perspective: they will take control of the gun and make it safe, do their boarding and probably run the serial number. They will probably contact dlnr to see if they interested if they are not already doing a joint boarding, and see.if they want to come out and look at it. If you haven't broken any federal laws, you SHOULD be good.

What if you live on the boat?

===============
I have a friend who lives on a rather nice boat and has plenty of guns.

Glad this thread got bumped up.  I am surprised many fishermen I know basically don't know shit.  I also asked a former DLNR guy and he said it was not legal to have. 

Not an attempt to "cop bash" but don't trust what LEOs say if legal or illegal. Unfortunately many are not well versed in law to know....

Not an attempt to "cop bash" but don't trust what LEOs say if legal or illegal. Unfortunately many are not well versed in law to know....

Yup. If you ask a Leo, make sure you ask them for the Hrs number or citation number, so you can look further into it yourself and read the actual wording. Once they realize your serious, they usually get busy all of a sudden and cant talk, or avoid you everytime your around. At least in my experiences.

Just spoke with my friend (game warden), he says as long As gun/persons are legal it's not a problem. They know many people use them to dispatch fish. BUT he also said the firearm needs to be realistic in it's purpose - not a 50bmg.

Hey man it was a big fish.

Interesting subject, I live aboard, have weapons aboard ( all legal ).  Since my boat is my place of residence, can the CG demand my weapons ( securely locked away ) without 'probable cause' or a warrant to enter my residence???

Can they enter my home to search for contraband/illegal drugs/etc, without a warrant?  Do I lose my 4th Amendment rights simply because I choose to live aboard a boat?

Any attorneys around who'd like to pop up? 

Interesting subject, I live aboard, have weapons aboard ( all legal ).  Since my boat is my place of residence, can the CG demand my weapons ( securely locked away ) without 'probable cause' or a warrant to enter my residence???

Can they enter my home to search for contraband/illegal drugs/etc, without a warrant?  Do I lose my 4th Amendment rights simply because I choose to live aboard a boat?

Any attorneys around who'd like to pop up?

I am no attorney, but a member of the Coast Guard. I did some research into the subject a while ago and found out that the constitution does not necessarily apply on the water. The supreme court decided this during the early times of our nation. The reason was that back then, we couldn't tell as easily if the boat was a foreign warship or not. This is why the Coast Guard can do safety boarding UNDERWAY (usually). While they are there they will make sure all weapons are safe. This generally applies to the safety aspect of using a boat (life jackets, flares...) but if they see something in the open that might be illegal, then they can use probable cause and search deeper. Now I am not part if a boarding team so o do not take part in these at sea boarding's. But I do enforce environmental laws, and they specifically say that the Coast Guard can board any vessel without a warrant to stop the pollution or find the source.

Interesting subject, I live aboard, have weapons aboard ( all legal ).  Since my boat is my place of residence, can the CG demand my weapons ( securely locked away ) without 'probable cause' or a warrant to enter my residence???

Can they enter my home to search for contraband/illegal drugs/etc, without a warrant?  Do I lose my 4th Amendment rights simply because I choose to live aboard a boat?

Any attorneys around who'd like to pop up? 

In short, they don't need either a warrant or probable cause....They can board and search anywhere, at any time.....

http://www.sailfeed.com/2012/10/coast-guard-boardings-and-your-fourth-amendment-rights-part-1/

The U.S. Coast Guard Boarding Policy:

Title 14 section 89 of the United States Code authorizes the U.S. Coast Guard to board vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, anytime, any place upon the high seas and upon any waterway over which the United States has jurisdiction, to make inquires, examinations, inspections, searches, seizures, and arrests. The U.S. Coast Guard does not require a warrant to conduct search, seizures, arrests over any United States Waterway or high seas. The U.S. Coast Guard also have full legal law enforcement power on any land under the control of the United States, as needed to complete any mission.

Sweeping powers. In a paper in the William and Mary Law Review, law scholar Greg Shelton says, “In terms of enforcement power, Coast Guard boarding officers are clearly America's "supercops."”  Another law scholar, Megan Jaye Kight, says, "As such, these provisions comprise what has been accurately characterized as 'one of the most sweeping grants of police authority ever to be written into U.S.  law.'"

Thankfully the CG internal policies and limited personnel help prevent Super Cops 

I was wondering what type of Firearm & Caliber would be sufficient to fulfill this purpose, for using on Tuna/Billfish?...

It's all about shot placement I've taken out a 400lb marlin with a blank .357 in a bangstick.