Four Pacific Island vaka leaving Auckland on a Pacific voyage this week are backed by environmental groups, including the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The fleet comprises canoes with sailors from the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa and New Zealand, and leaves Auckland on Wednesday for Tahiti.
The union's oceanic director Taholo Kami says he hopes the trip will not only help revive traditional voyaging, but also draw attention to the need for healthy oceans.
"If you take it back to the local fisherman or person sitting in a village back in the Pacific, they can see things happening but they cant explain it and there is a connection somewhere. There might be differences on the cause, but what we as Pacific Islanders are saying is that the crisis is on our doorstep right now."
Taholo Kami of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The fleet will also sail to the Cook Islands, Samoa and Fiji.
