Marine Resources Act 2005 (No. 7 of 2005).

This Act makes provision for the management, conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources of the Cook Islands and regulates to a certain extent aquaculture, mariculture and the fishing of the Cook Islands fishing vessels outside the Fishery Waters of the Cook Islands. Matters covered by this Act include: fisheries resources conservation and development; planning; foreign fishing and access agreements and fisheries management agreements; authorization of fishing activities; conservation measures; management of aquaculture; monitoring, control and surveillance; and legal proceedings. "Fish" in this Act means any aquatic plant or animal, whether piscine or not, and includes any turtle and marine mammal.
The principal objective of the Act is to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the living marine resources for the benefit of the people of the Cook Islands. The Ministry of Marine Resources has the principal function of, and authority for, the conservation, management, development of the living and non-living resources in the fishery waters in accordance with this Act and the Ministry of Marine Resources Act 1984. In addition to the Minister, the Secretary of Marine Resources is asssigned an important administrative function under this Act. A fishery plan for the management of each designated fishery in the fishery waters shall be prepared by the Secretary but a local authority may prepare a fishery plan for the management of a designated fishery of local interest within its area of authority. The Act also introduces a prohibition of importation of fish caught in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing operation and empowers the Secretary to take port state maesures where it has been established, on reasonable grounds, that the catch has been taken in a manner which undermines the effectiveness of fisheries conservation and management measures adopted by a regional or international organisation.