Currently, purse seiners are not permitted to fish within 44km of any island, while the buffer zone for long liners is 22km for all islands except Rarotonga, which has a 44km buffer.
The Ministry of Marine Resources has said it is concerned that expanding buffer zones to 93km would have limited benefits.
It said in comparison a 44km buffer would provide sufficient conservation benefits without creating congestion in legal fishing areas or making it more difficult to monitor foreign fishing vessels.