HONOLULU -- Two Waikiki beachboys have been suspended from giving surf lessons and renting boards on Waikiki Beach for four months after they removed jellyfish warning signs that they said were interfering with their business.

The dispute between beachboys and city lifeguards happened on June 28, during the largest invasion of box jellyfish to hit the Waikiki and Ala Moana area in a decade, according to city officials.

The two beachboys were upset when lifeguards put jellyfish warning signs up where they give surf lessons on Waikiki Beach, close to the Honolulu Police Department sub-station, in front of their stand operated by Hawaiian Oceans Waikiki, city officials said.

So, the city said the two veteran beachboys took down two jellyfish warning signs, and kept moving them, even when lifeguards warned them not to. A lifeguard captain then called the police and filed a complaint.

"It gives the beachboy tradition a black eye," City Enterprise Services Director Sid Quintal said.

Quintal's department oversees beach concessions. He ordered the beachboy concessionaire to suspend the two men from working at the beach for four months, as punishment, but the stand is still open.

"We take this very seriously, any interference with the lifeguards and we have taken a very hard approach. We could have been a lot harder," Quintal said.

The day of the dispute, Waikiki was inundated with about 2,000 box jellyfish, city official said. Lifeguards put up warning signs up and down the beaches, but still, at least 177 people were treated for stings and five swimmers were taken to the hospital.

"Business, I can understand, was interrupted, but that's for the safety and welfare of our public, and that is what our duty is," Quintal said.

"It should not have happened. It just should not have happened," Hawaiian Oceans Beach Stand General Manager Neal Nakasone said.

Nakasone is general manager of the surf stand where the two suspended beachboys worked.

"We're very sorry that it happened. We apologize for the incident, but it is also a sobering reminder that lifeguards are in charge of the beach," Nakasone said.

An attorney for one of the beachboys said the four-month suspension is "outrageous" and "severe," and plans to ask the city to reconsider. He said his client has lost $6,000 to $7,000 in potential income during the first month of his suspension.

The two beachboys may also face misdemeanor charges of interfering with a government operation for moving the jellyfish warning signs.