No — you cannot bring dead coral home from Hawaii. State law prohibits removing dead coral, coral rubble, sand, and rocks from the shoreline, and a separate rule bans taking any stony coral, alive or dead, from state waters. Depending on which statute applies, civil fines start at $5,000 and can reach $100,000, and carrying the coral back to the mainland can trigger federal penalties on top of that.
The Two Rules That Make It Illegal
Hawaii bans coral removal through two overlapping laws, and dead coral falls squarely inside both.
HRS §205A-44 prohibits mining or taking sand, dead coral, coral rubble, rocks, soil, or other beach deposits from the shoreline area.1Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-44 – Prohibitions The exceptions are narrow: material that inadvertently sticks to your body, clothes, or beach gear; authorized government work; and certain traditional cultural practices. Seashells, driftwood, beach glass, glass floats, and seaweed are specifically exempted.2Cornell Law School / LII. Hawaii Code R 15-150-23 – Prohibited Removal Dead coral is not.
Hawaii Administrative Rules §13-95-70 goes further. It makes it unlawful for anyone to take, break, or damage any stony coral in state waters, covering reef-building corals, mushroom corals, and other hard species whether alive or dead. The only exceptions involve accidental contact under half a square meter and approved renewable energy projects. Selling stony coral is also illegal unless the material was legally imported for jewelry manufacturing or obtained through permitted dredging.3Cornell Law School / LII. Hawaii Code R 13-95-70 – Stony Corals
The One-Gallon Rule Doesn’t Cover Coral
Visitors sometimes hear that Hawaii allows a gallon per person per day of beach material and assume that covers coral. It doesn’t. HRS §171-58.5 permits up to one gallon of sand, rocks, soil, and similar marine deposits from seaward of the shoreline for personal, noncommercial use.4Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 171-58.5 – Prohibitions The stony coral rule independently prohibits taking coral of any kind and only references §171-58.5 to borrow its limited government-authorized exceptions. Loose sand or small underwater rocks may fit; coral does not.
What It Costs If You’re Caught
Penalties depend on which statute prosecutors use and whether the case goes forward civilly or criminally.
Under the aquatic resources framework, civil enforcement of the stony coral rule carries fines of up to $5,000 for a first offense, $10,000 for a second, and $15,000 for a third or subsequent violation within five years.5Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 187A-12.5 – General Penalties The stony coral rule points directly to these amounts for civil enforcement.3Cornell Law School / LII. Hawaii Code R 13-95-70 – Stony Corals
A criminal prosecution for a related aquatic resource violation is a petty misdemeanor. Minimum fines start at $100 for a first offense, with an additional fine of up to $100 or the retail market value (whichever is higher) for each specimen taken. Courts can add community service, aquatic resources education classes, and probation with ocean-access restrictions.6Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 188-70 – Penalties
The coastal zone penalties are the biggest. A violation of the shoreline removal prohibition under §205A-44 can bring a civil fine of up to $100,000, or the cost of restoring the affected environment, plus $10,000 per day for continuing violations.7Justia Law. Hawaii Revised Statutes 205A-32 – Penalties These amounts are designed for commercial-scale conduct, but the statute doesn’t cap them there. Confiscation of the coral is standard in every case.
Federal Exposure If You Fly It Home
Putting the coral in your suitcase turns a state violation into a federal one. The Lacey Act makes it a federal offense to transport across state lines any fish, wildlife, or plant taken in violation of state law.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3372 – Prohibited Acts Civil penalties reach $10,000 per violation. Knowing violations, where you were aware the coral was taken illegally, are felonies punishable by fines up to $20,000 and up to five years in prison, with forfeiture of the coral and potentially the equipment used to move it.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 3373 – Penalties and Sanctions
Five coral species in U.S. Pacific Island waters, including parts of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, are also listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, which adds ESA penalties on top of everything else if the piece happens to be one of them.10NOAA Fisheries. Critical Habitat Designations for Threatened Corals in US Waters in the Pacific Islands A visitor has no reliable way to tell one species from another.
Airport Inspections You’ll Go Through
Even without an intent to break the law, you’ll pass through screening designed to catch prohibited items. Federal regulations require every passenger flying out of Hawaii to present carry-ons and personal items for agricultural inspection, usually at or near the security checkpoint. Checked bags must clear a USDA agricultural station before the airline will accept them; inspectors stamp or sticker bags that pass.11eCFR. Subpart A – Regulated Articles From Hawaii and the Territories Inspectors can refuse to clear prohibited items and can refer violations for enforcement.
What You Can Take Home Instead
The shoreline rule spells out what’s allowed as a beach souvenir: seashells, driftwood, beach glass, glass floats, and seaweed.2Cornell Law School / LII. Hawaii Code R 15-150-23 – Prohibited Removal Shells should be empty and free of live organisms. Marine life conservation districts on individual islands may impose stricter local rules, so check what applies at the specific beach.
Coral jewelry and decorative coral pieces sold in Hawaii retail shops are legal to buy and take home, as long as the coral was legally imported for manufacturing rather than harvested from Hawaiian reefs.3Cornell Law School / LII. Hawaii Code R 13-95-70 – Stony Corals Keep the receipt and the original packaging. USDA advises retaining proof of purchase for any agricultural or wildlife product, since without it you may not be able to show the item can lawfully travel.12APHIS. International Traveler – Souvenirs With coral in particular, the burden is on you to demonstrate the piece came from a legitimate source.