HERALD WEEKLY ISSUE 650: 23 January 2013

Hua Nan Fishery donates 100 kilos of fish to Rarotonga Hospital

Hua Nan Fishery (Cook Islands) Company Ltd donated 100 kilo’s of Wahoo to the Rarotonga Hospital on Wednesday morning to help feed all the patients there.
Currently at Avatiu Harbour is the “Hua Nan Yu 719” with a hold full of tuna that is being unloaded prior to shipment to Pago Pago, American Samoa. And it is from this vessel that the wahoo has come from.
Hua Nan Fishery General Manager in the Cook Islands, Matthew Wang, first approached Marine Resources Minister Hon Teina Bishop with the offer of fish a few days ago. And it was Minister Bishop who then arranged for the wahoo to be uplifted from Avatiu Wharf and delivered to the Rarotonga Hospital.
Sign of goodwill
Mr Wang said his company was very pleased to offer this fish as a sign of goodwill to the people of the Cook Islands. And he was especially pleased to give this fish to help feed people who are sick or ill in hospital.
In accepting this fish at the Rarotonga Hospital, Health Minister Hon Nandi Glassie said that the donation of fish was very much appreciated and he extended his thanks to the Hua Nan Fishery Company for their most generous offer.
“Sick people in particular need a good balanced diet to help them with their recovery,” said the Minister. “And fresh fish is one of the best foods that any hospital patient can eat.”
“So in this regard myself and all the staff at the Rarotonga Hospital are very grateful to be able to have fresh wahoo on the menu for all our patients,” said Minister Glassie. “And once again I would like to thank Matthew Wang and the Hua Nan Fishery Company for thinking about helping our sick people at this time.”
T & M Heather cuts and packs
Soon after delivery at the Rarotonga Hospital, Kitchen Manager Kaota Tuariki contacted T & M Heather Ltd in Arorangi who offered their staff and cafeteria facilities so as all the wahoo could be cut up into wahoo steaks and packed accordingly.
This was subsequently done under the supervision of Manager Tuariki who later expressed his gratitude and thanks to the cafeteria staff of T & M Heather for their help and assistance.
So either directly, or indirectly, three Cabinet Ministers were involved in delivering this fish from the Avatiu Wharf to the patients in the Rarotonga Hospital
More Tuna for “Golden Tuna”
Also being unloaded from the “Hua Nan Yu 719” is 60 tonnes of albacore tuna that is destined for the Starkist Canning factory in American Samoa. There it will be processed and canned under the Cook Islands “Golden Tuna” brand.
60 tonnes of albacore is already in storage in Pago Pago. So this shipment of another 60 tonnes will mean that 120 tonnes of albacore will be ready for processing into “Golden Tuna” in the very near future.
Luen Thai International
Hua Nan Fishery (Cook Islands) Company Limited was established as a Cook Islands registered company in August this year.
While its parent company is the China Southern Fishery (Shenzhen) Company Ltd of Shenzhen, China, the overall parent company is Luen Thai International who have their headquarters in Hong Kong. The “Charitable Agency” of Luen Thai International is the Tan Foundation under Chairman Tan.
It was from Chairman Tan and the Tan Foundation that Marine Resources Minister Teina Bishop received US$50,000 worth of laptop computers for Cook Islands school children earlier this year.
“While our donation to the Rarotonga Hospital today is small,” said General Manager Matthew Wang. “It is our hope that as our company here in the Cook Islands grows, then we can do more to help the people of the Cook Islands in a more beneficial way.”
Mr Wang concluded by saying “I hope the fish we gave to the Hospital this morning will help all the patients there to a quick and speedy recovery.”-Howard Henry, Office of the Minister for Marine Resources

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- News Briefs

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