The Ministry of Marine Resources is advising the public that the harvesting of marine resources should always be done in a manner that is to provide for an immediate need.

This comes after concerns were raised over marine protected areas being disturbed on the island, especially people stealing turtles or catching crabs.

As we are drawing closer to the festive season, MMR head Pamela Maru advises: “Avoid species that are vulnerable to overfishing such as paua, and do not take any species where there are conservation concerns such as with turtles. This should apply year-round and not just for the festive season.”

Maru says that the harvesting of marine resources should always be done in a manner that is to provide for an immediate need and there should be no taking of large amounts of seafood to put in the freezer, but to only take what you need for the day.

Maru explained that MMR does not have specific ‘marine protected areas’ in the Cook Islands, except for that which is outlined in section 24 of the Marae Moana Act 2017.

“Whilst MMR monitors ra’ui areas (through surveys etc), these areas are implemented and managed through traditional systems and by the Aronga Mana.”
She further said that many ra’ui have been lifted and not put back in place, and ra’ui are also not legally enforceable.

“MMR is undertaking some work to develop a regulatory framework to support ra’ui. We strongly encourage all members of the public to respect ra’ui where they exist,” she added.

The new Environment Bill 2024 aims to strengthen the issues around protecting turtles and to assist enforcement on Ra’ui based on the National Environment Service’s mandate.

NES director Halatoa Fua says that under the current legal framework (Act) NES has a general function in Section 9 of the EA 2003 in protecting, conserving, and managing species including wildlife and areas whether through Management Plans for individual Islands or through regulations but it is noted that no specific regulations have been passed to date.

Fua, however, says that the new Environment Bill 2024 aims to strengthen the issues around protecting turtles and to assist enforcement on ra’ui based on NES’s mandate which the current Act does not address.

He said these include allowing the Island environment authorities to have a mandate in designating species (including turtles) for protection as well as areas to be protected such as ra’uis- against human activities.  

Part 20 of the Bill also aims to allow for regulations to be made for turtle protection.

“It’s important to highlight that ra’uis are traditionally established, monitored and enforced by traditional leaders and their communities, not government, and whilst we have an interest to support them and see their effectiveness strengthened, they are not currently directly under our mandate

“Furthermore, protected areas are considered in Part 9 of the new Bill as the current Act nor other legal framework pertains to gaps which the new Bill aims to address.,” he added.

 He explained that ra’uis are not considered MPAs because they are traditionally established practices implemented by traditional leaders and are currently without legislation or formally identified/established long-term management objectives (food security and resource harvesting are typically the primary objectives, which may or may not be considered biodiversity conservation depending on the practices agreed).  NES team have recently returned from the Northern Group conducting public consultations on the Environment Bill and National Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan.