State officials have tagged approximately 90 canoes, catamarans and other vessels lining Lanikai Beach with notices that they must be removed by their owners within 72 hours to avoid being impounded.

While owners have parked their vessels on the popular beach for years, officials with the state’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation say it’s illegal to do so. Only canoes registered with a canoe club can obtain a permit to leave their vessel on the beach.

DOBOR officials say they have conducted similar crackdowns of illegally parked vessels at nearby Kailua Beach and are expected to do another sweep of that area in the coming weeks. But this is the first time they have enforced the statute on Lanikai Beach where they say vessels stretch hull-to-hull along nearly the entire length of the beach.

“Many of these boats have been illegally stored on the beach for years,” said DOBOR Oahu District Manager Meghan Statts in a news release. “Community members and area legislators have made it clear that ‘boat parking’ is taking up significant beach area at Lanikai.”

State Rep. Chris Lee, who grew up in the area and represents Lanikai in the state Legislature, said he was not aware of many complaints about the parked vessels, which to his knowledge have been there since at least the 1980s.

But he said a shrinking beach brought on by erosion and new property owners coming into the community with different expectations for the beach have likely changed the situation.

DOBOR officials say that they hope to work with vessel owners as a first step, before having to resort to impoundment, and encourage people who have boats on the beach to contact their Oahu office at 832-3520 to discuss options.