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Community water lobby group Te Vai Ora Maori is questioning key findings from a government funded ecological report after a six-day field study was conducted in January.

In 1989, the Kakerori was on the brink of extinction. Now, it’s one of the front-runners in Te Ipukarea Society’s Bird of the Year contest!

The Cook Islands prime minister has denied that his country is gambling with ocean health by opening up for deep sea mining exploration.

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.

The Cook Islands is expecting a formal declaration of its sea borders to help in the battle against illegal fishing.

The deep seabed in international waters beyond the Cook Islands, is also referred to as the Common Heritage of Humankind. As a sponsoring State of an area proposed for mining in the Clarion Clipperton Zone, the Cook Islands has a responsibility to protect it, just as we do our own seabed.

The need to remove the crown of thorns starfish or taramea as soon as possible is crucial, says Kōrero o te 'Ōrau. The local non-government organisation is now calling on support through a Givealittle page, especially from those wishing to contribute from abroad.

As Te Ipukarea Society has argued before, along with many other voices, a moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining empowers the Pacific and builds the capacity of island nations to protect coastal waters and conserve the vital biodiversity of the deep ocean systems.

The Cook Islands, Niue, Solomon Islands, and Tonga have approved their national State of the Environment (SoE) reports, whilst in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Minister for Environment Conservation and Climate Change has pre-approved the country’s report.

There is nothing like certainty in uncertain times. Every September, the northern summer folds into autumn, the southern winter blooms into spring. The leaves fall, the buds blossom, and all is well with the world. Except it is not.