A four-day workshop in October agreed on a number of new rules that will be taken back to the villages for approval. A meeting planned for February will ratify these new laws and start a more comprehensive process of management planning for the WMA and Ramsar area. Tuna swimming within the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone had better watch out. WWF Cook Islands coordinator Jacqui Evans reports that the venture will involve 20 fishing boats, based at the Cooks northern-most island of Penrhyn. A fish processing and packing facility will be installed on board a vessel to be wharfed at Penrhyn wharf.
Chartered flights are to be used to export fish to Hawaii every week.
She said inappropriate disposal of waste from fish processing plants had caused nutrient enrichment of water bodies in the past. Local people have also raised concerns about the impacts of the fish processing plant on pearl farming areas around Penrhyn. Reports suggest that waste from the processing vessel will be piped across the island and over the reef. The Sepik River buzzed again with helicopter noise early this month as the aerial crocodile monitoring survey started again. This year's survey was fully financed by WWF's Sepik project which provided the necessary K61,000 to put researchers from the Office of Environment and Conservation in the air.