(1) The Secretary may designate in writing persons to act as observers on vessels issued with valid licenses or authorizations pursuant to this Act. (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), observers may be designated in accordance with any fishery plan or any access agreement or related agreement and shall be designated where required by any fishery plan or any agreement or where an observer or class of observers has been certified under the terns of such agreement or other bilateral or multilateral legal instrument to which Cook Islands is party. (3) Persons designated in accordance with subsection (2) who are not Cook Islanders shall be subject to the provisions of this Act while carrying out their duties and functions and enforcing their rights. (4) Observers shall exercise scientific, compliance, monitoring and other functions. (5) Observers shall be permitted to board any vessel issued with a valid license or authorization pursuant to this Act and remain on such vessel for the purpose of exercising the observers functions. (6) The operator, master, and each member of the crew of such vessel shall allow and assist an observer to - (a) board and remain on such vessel for the purpose of carrying out his or her duties and functions, at such time and place as the Secretary may require; (b) have full access to and the use of facilities and equipment on board the vessel which the observer may determine is necessary to carry out his or her duties, including - (i) full access to the bridge, fish on board and areas which may be used to hold, process, weigh and store fish; (ii) full access to the vessel's records including its log and documentation for the purpose of records inspection and copying; (iii) full access to fishing gear on board; (iv) full access to navigation equipment and radios; (v) take and remove from the vessel reasonable samples for the purposes of scientific investigation and other relevant information; (vi) take photographs of the fishing operations, including fish, fishing gear, equipment, charts and records, and remove from the vessel such photographs or film as he or she may have taken or used on board the vessel; (vii) send or receive messages by means of the vessel's communications equipment; and (viii) gather any other information relating to fisheries in the fishery waters or other areas as may be authorized by license or authorization; (c) carry out the observers duties safely; and (d) disembark at such time and place as may be determined by the Secretary or in accordance with an access agreement. (7) The operator shall provide the observer, while on board the vessel, at no expense to the Government with food, accommodation and medical facilities equivalent to officers or such reasonable standard as may be acceptable to the Secretary. (8) In addition to the requirements in subsection (7), the Secretary may require the operator to pay in full the following costs of the authorized observer - (a) travel costs to and from the vessel; (b) such salary as may be notified by the Secretary, being the full amount of such salary; and (c) full insurance coverage. (9) Any operator and master of any vessel with a valid license issued in accordance with this Act shall allow and assist any observer to have full access to any place within the Cook Islands where fish taken in the fishery waters is unloaded or transhipped, to remove samples and to gather any information relating to fisheries in the fishery waters.

(1) The operator, master, and each crew member of any fishing vessel, the driver of any vehicle and the pilot and crew of any aircraft shall immediately comply with every instruction or direction given by an authorized officer or observer as appropriate, and facilitate safe boarding, entry and inspection of the vessel, vehicle or aircraft and any fishing gear, equipment, records, fish and fish products. (2) The operator, master, and each crew member of a vessel, driver of a vehicle and pilot and crew of an aircraft shall ensure the safety of an authorized officer or observer as appropriate in the performance of his duties. (3) Every person commits an offense who contravenes subsections (1) or (2), or- (a) assaults, obstructs, resists, delays, refuses boarding to, intimidates or fails to ensure the safety of or otherwise interfere with an authorized officer or observer in the performance of his duties; (b) incites or encourages any other person to assault, resist, or obstruct any authorized officer while in the execution of his powers or duties, or any person lawfully acting under the officer's orders or in his aid; (c) uses threatening language or behaves in a threatening or insulting manner or uses abusive language or insulting gestures towards any authorized officer or observer while in the execution of his powers or duties, or any person lawfully acting under an authorized officer's orders or in his aid; (d) fails to comply with the lawful requirements or any authorized officer or observer; (e) furnishes to any authorized officer any particulars which are false or misleading in any material respect; (f) personates or falsely represents himself to be an authorized officer, or who falsely represents himself to be a person lawfully acting under an authorized officer's orders or in his aid; (g) resists lawful arrest for any act prohibited by this Act; (h) is in breach of any other duty to an authorized officer or authorized observer under this Act. (4) For the purpose of subsection (3), any person who does not allow any authorized officer, or any person acting under his orders or in his aid, or an observer to exercise any of the powers conferred on such person by this Act shall be deemed to be obstructing that officer or person. (5) Every person who, being a master, owner, charterer, agent, or a company established under the laws of Cook Island which owns, partly owns or controls a fishing vessel which transports an authorized officer or observer outside the fishery waters and causes him or her to disembark outside the territory of jurisdiction of the Cook Islands, commits an offense and upon conviction shall be liable, in addition to any fine, for all costs of repatriation including board and lodging while out of the Cook Islands and direct transportation to Cook Islands. (6) Every person who commits an offense against this section shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $500,000.

An authorized officer or observer when exercising any of the powers conferred on him by this Act shall on request produce identification to show he or she is an authorized officer or observer under this Act.