The global economic crisis is having a huge impact on Manihiki in the northern Cook Islands, with many people choosing to migrate to New Zealand or Australia.
The mayor of Manihiki Kora Kora, who was at Wellington's annual Pasifika festival, says the population is down to 280.
He says the cost of living and price of food leave people no option but to leave the island.
"There's a lot of people have just left, because of that reason the cost of living, and they're more happier to be here in New Zealand and in Wellington and in Auckland, you know you're buying a bread of a dollar which we buy a bread of five dollars in Manihiki so yes in that way people have gone for that kind of change."
Kora Kora.
