A 20-year-old Eleele, Kauai, man has been sentenced to four years in prison for harassing a pregnant Hawaiian monk seal.

Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe sentenced Shylo K. Akuna on Wednesday. Kauai County Prosecutor Justin Kollar said, “It sends a message that harassment of endangered species will not be tolerated and will not be acceptable.

“Our natural environment is so important to us in Hawaii, and we are determined to protect that,” he said in a phone interview.

This is believed to be the first conviction in the state under a 2010 law that made it a Class C felony to harm or harass endangered Hawaiian monk seals.

Violators face penalties of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000.

The Hawaii Paroling Authority will determine the minimum term Akuna must serve in prison before he becomes eligible for parole.

In June, Akuna was sentenced to one year in prison for stealing a goat from a pasture and slaughtering it last year.

He has been in custody since March after he allegedly burglarized a hotel room at the Poipu Grand Hyatt. Akuna pleaded not guilty to burglary and theft. His trial is set for Monday.

In the 2010 legislative session, lawmakers sought stiffer penalties to deter harm to monk seals after a 78-year-old man was sentenced to 90 days in jail under a plea deal for fatally shooting a pregnant monk seal on Kauai.

In September 2009, Charles Vidinha, 78, pleaded guilty in federal court to shooting the seal on May 20 of that year at Pilaa Beach. He testified his intent was to scare the mammal away from the beach, not kill it, because he didn’t want the seal to steal fish from nets he had planned to place in the water.

One bullet from a rifle fatally struck the monk seal’s head and another bullet killed the fetus.

In addition to Vidinha’s jail term, he was sentenced to one year of supervised release.

Last year, a video posted on social media showed a man later identified as Akuna, then 19, harassing the 17-year-old endangered monk seal at Salt Pond Beach on April 26. The video sparked outrage after it went viral.

Police, along with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement officers and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement, arrested Akuna two days later.

The monk seal identified as RK30 was uninjured and gave birth to her seventh pup during the first week of May on a remote beach on the Na Pali Coast.

A Kauai grand jury indicted Akuna and he later pleaded no contest.

There are 1,400 endangered Hawaiian monk seals — 300 in the main Hawaiian Islands and 1,100 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

In an emailed statement, DLNR Chairwoman Suzanne Case said, “This sentence sends a very strong message that attacks on any of our wildlife resources will not be tolerated. We very much appreciate the court, in this case, recognizing that the people of Hawaii expect and demand full justice for these types of severe and senseless wildlife crimes.”