tuna on the deck of a Pacific fishing vessel Photo: Giff Johnson
The head of the Cook Islands Ministry of Marine Resources says they remain committed to a sustainably-managed purse seine fishery.
This came after a parliamentary committee's assessment of purse seining plans by the European Union was tabled this week.
The secretary Ben Ponia, who had been centrally involved in promoting the scheme, said the ministry maintains its view that the ban sought on fish aggregating devices, or FADs, would have no conservation value and deny the country economic benefits.
Cook Islands, Ben Ponia Photo: Supplied
He said it would also deprive the Cooks' government the opportunity to actively participate in the regional management of the Pacific's tuna resource.
The committee was set up in June to consider concerns raised in a petition signed by more than 4,000 people opposing the government's link up with the EU on the tuna access issue.
