The upcoming “Sail Out Rally”, calling for a precautionary pause on deep sea mining, is gaining momentum with a “printing for the protection of our ocean” campaign at the Punanga Nui Market.

Officially launched last week at Hut 40, the campaign is spearheaded by June Hosking, president of the environment group Te Ipukarea Society.

It allows the public to bring their old and new garments and get special messages printed on them, aimed at appealing to protect the ocean from activities such as seabed mining.

Through this campaign, Hosking says they are giving new meaning to old garments and showing care by refusing to reduce demand on the world’s resources.

She believes that if people demanded less and gave more, there wouldn’t be a need for so much mining on land and in the ocean.

“This service is free, as people are bringing their own garments for printing. This allows people to show their individuality in what they wear whilst carrying a timeless, critical message,” Hosking said

“The Sail Out Rally at Avarua Harbour on September 18^th belongs to everyone who cares for our ocean and desires a good future for our mokopuna.”

Hosking said that during their campaign on Saturday “the first hour began slowly” which gave her the opportunity to give out flyers and talk to people.

“Everyone I spoke to felt that deep sea mining is a bad idea. Some agreeing with the call for a precautionary pause to deep sea mining whilst others just said mining is a no no. One particular group from northern Australia were keen to share their stories of devastation that mining has caused them,” she said.

“Also, only a couple of people had heard of dark oxygen; the recent discovery that metallic nodules are involved in the production of oxygen in the deep dark. With this new information, the majority opinion was that ‘we absolutely cannot remove the nodules’.”
Cook Islands is in the third year of a five-year exploration phase to determine the feasibility of deep-sea mining for polymetallic nodules. Three companies have been granted licence and access to the nation’s waters to see if mining is a viable option.

The Seabed Minerals Authority has reiterated that the Cook Islands government has not yet decided whether it will support harvesting (or mining).

“It is premature to do so, as we do not currently have enough data and information to make a science-based decision,” Alex Herman, the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority commissioner, said last week.

“Until such time, only exploration activities are allowed. Exploration research is critical in generating the science needed to make informed decisions about seabed minerals development.”

The garment printing campaign continues this Wednesday at Hut 40 from 12 noon to 4pm and again on Saturday, September 14 throughout the morning.

Hosking said they were looking forward to seeing the messages worn “not just on September 18^th, but leading up to and continuing afterwards”.

“Protecting our ocean is a long-term goal and plea for leaders worldwide to think deeply before making decisions that future generations will have to live with.”