The Cook Islands National Environmental Services have reminded the public once again of the restrictions surrounding the removal of pa’ua (giant clam meat and shells) from the reef and taking the shellfish out of the country.
Government says it has no intention to legislate Ra’ui to manage the country’s reef and lagoons, opting instead to introduce contemporary approaches that aim to address perceived over-harvesting of resources.
A recent confrontation between a Government MP and a Rarotonga market stall operator over the harvesting of Avake (sea urchin) has revived calls to give traditional conservation practices greater authority by incorporating them into law.
Cook Islands Fishing Association President Don Beer said a debate over a spearfishing exhibition event held in conjunction with the Cook Islands Games 2020 was a wake-up call to look at the impact small-scale fishing activities can have on marine ecosystems.
A large fruit-eating bird from Tonga joins the dodo in the line-up of giant island pigeons hunted to extinction.
Conservationists worry the animals, which are vital food sources for many species along the U.S. East Coast, will decline in number...Every year, pharmaceutical companies round up half a million Atlantic horseshoe crabs, bleed them, and return them to the ocean— after which many will die.