Our first speaker at ASftS#7 was Alanna Smith. She is the director of the environmental organisation Te Ipukarea in the Cook Islands. Last year the Cook Islands signed three Seabed minerals exploration licences. One of the companies involved is the Belgium-based dredging company DEME. As Alanna was in Jamaica following the 28th meeting of the council of the ISA, the International Seabed Authority, she agreed on prerecording a video statement.

From: Is the fate of our deep sea in the hands of mining companies?

Walking on Mangaia with Allan Tuara we encounter his ancestors, how their sacred places were destroyed, how their gods were forgotten. Mangaians are stubborn and independent, and maintain that reputation. When for example the Cook Islands Land Court wanted to set foot on this island, it was met with resistance. Therefore Mangaians still settle land matters and disputes as they feel best. Few people are better placed to explain this island than Allan Tuara.

From: Meeting Mangaia's ancestors

Eind 2022 trokken Greet Brauwers en Raf Custers voor drie maanden naar de Cook Islands. Ze wilden er onder andere de verbinding maken met niet-Westerse wereldvisies en registreren hoe de jongere generatie op de eilanden omgaat met de tweespalt economie/ecologie en voor welke lokale en globale alternatieven zij ijvert.

From: Er is geen grens tussen land en water

The Fisheries Department of the Cook Islands has left a dozen of them in the sea around Rarotonga. They attract "ocean-going pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish). They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks." But with us as passengers Nga prefers to follow the birds. When he sees a flock of birds, Nga turns towards it immediately. The birds prey on the small fry, and small fry attract bigger game.

From: Follow the birds to catch fish

We sit with master navigator Peia Patai, next to the double-hull sailing boat (the 'vaka') Motu Okeanos Waa’Qab at Rarotonga's harbour. A vaka is a Maori voyaging canoe. That morning Peia Patai and his crew have lifted the vaka out of the water and brought it into a dry dock where she will be repainted and renamed Paikea. The Cook Islands, an archipelago of 15 islands, is a vast Polynesia island state. But up to now, Peia Patai is only one of three master navigators who've been accredited as captains on the traditional vakas in the country.

From: The sea if suffering

A crown-of-thorns sea star, called taramea in Māori, has broken out on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, which could endanger the survival of the surrounding coral reef. Local environmental organisation Kōrero O Te `Ōrau is tackling the outbreak by training young Māori people in deep-sea diving and carrying out expeditions to remove taramea from the reef.

From: Taramea