Avaavaroa Passage is home to sea turtles, eagle rays and reef fish. It is also one of Rarotonga's most dangerous swimming spots. Today it is shared by swimmers, snorkellers, motorboats and sea scooters, with no enforceable limits on any of them.

We're asking for clear, enforceable rules that protect marine life and keep everyone safe.

Full evidence and sources: snorkelcookislands.com/petition

Who we are

Snorkel Cook Islands is a locally owned, shore-based turtle tour business at Avaavaroa. We have run snorkel tours at the passage since 2016, and as Snorkel Cook Islands since 2018. Our founder worked as a professional lifeguard for the Gold Coast City Council from 2009 to 2015, patrolling the beaches between Surfers Paradise and North Burleigh, and competed in surf life saving from the age of eight before moving into Olympic kayaking. That background shapes how we run every tour in the passage. We don't use motorboats or sea scooters, so we have an interest in how the passage is managed, and we say so openly.

1. The environment

• Engine noise: in a choice-chamber experiment, 44% of settling reef fish larvae swam away from reef sound mixed with boat noise, compared with 8% for reef sound alone.[1] On the Great Barrier Reef, young damselfish were six times less likely to startle at a simulated predator attack when motorboats were passing, and in open-water trials predators ate more than twice as many of them.[2]
• Fuel and oil: older carburetted two-stroke outboards can release "up to 30% of the fuel … unburned or partially burned" into the water and air (US EPA).[3] Modern engines release far less.
• Speed: green turtles fled an approaching vessel in 60% of encounters at 4 km/h but only 4% at 19 km/h (about 10 knots).[4] Hawksbill turtles are Critically Endangered.[5]

2. Safety

• In December 2023 the Cook Islands Tourism chief executive said Avaavaroa Passage is "notorious for drownings" (as reported by RNZ).[6]
• Cook Islands law requires commercial boats to be registered, and requires their skippers to hold a licence and a Boatmaster Certificate. Vessels travelling at 10 knots or more must stay 60 m from anyone in the water.[7]
• We want to see these rules actively checked in the passage, where boats, scooters and swimmers share a narrow rip channel.

Why the MOU isn't enough

The Turtle Tour MOU is voluntary. RNZ reported Cook Islands Tourism's explanation that, as "primarily a marketing organisation", its agreement "is not legally binding".[8] It sets no limits on boat or scooter numbers, speed, engine type, noise or fuel. Its only motorboat clause asks operators to follow existing Ministry of Transport rules, and nobody has to show they comply.[9] Cook Islands Tourism itself has said "voluntary compliance alone is not enough".[10]

What we ask

1. Replace the voluntary MOU with an enforceable permit system for Avaavaroa.
2. Create a motor-free core zone for swimming and turtles, with low speed limits.
3. Cap the number of boats and sea scooters, and permit only low-emission engines for commercial use.
4. Check registration, licences and passenger limits in the passage.
5. Monitor underwater noise and water quality.

This isn't about any one operator. It's about one enforceable standard for everyone.

Please sign, then share with one friend who has swum with turtles on Rarotonga. If you live in the Cook Islands, please say so in your comment.

Kia orana, and meitaki maata for your support.

The Snorkel Cook Islands team

Sources

1. Holles et al. 2013: https://doi.org/10.3354/meps10346
2. Simpson et al. 2016: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10544
3. US EPA: https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=91022L6U.TXT
4. Hazel et al. 2007: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr003105
5. IUCN Red List: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8005/12881238
6. RNZ, 28 Dec 2023: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/505614/cook-islands-popular-turtle-swimming-spot-notorious-for-drownings
7. Ministry of Transport: https://www.transport.gov.ck/maritime/small-motorised-vessels/
8. RNZ, 3 Mar 2024: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/pacific/510705/cook-islands-turtle-tour-operators-sign-up-to-non-binding-agreement-to-boost-conservation-efforts
9. The MOU: https://cookislands.travel/sites/default/files/2024-02/MOU%20-%20Turtle%20Tour%20Operators%20JAN2024%20for%20website.pdf
10. Cook Islands News, 19 Mar 2025: https://www.cookislandsnews.com/internal/national/local/environment/tourism-takes-action-to-enhance-safety-in-turtle-tours/