Fisheries roundtable with Government and foreign fishing companies

Friday 18th March 2011.
Cook Islands Government will meet with some of the largest tuna fishing and fish processing companies operating globally and in the Pacific to seek cooperation on sustainable fishing and opportunities for economic development.
Shareholders and executives from three foreign companies whom have a vested interest in the Cook Islands fisheries waters and tuna processing facilities in Pago Pago have been invited. Also present is a representative from the Chinese Fisheries Association. Companies present include the following.
(1) Luen Tai Fishing Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary of a Hong Kong based conglomerate. It provides fresh tuna products to markets in the US and Japan using their own cargo planes. The company owns and operates 70 long-line vessels and its fishing bases serve more than 150 long line vessels.
(2) Tri Marine was originally formed as tuna procurement facility for a group of Italian owned companies. It is now one of the largest tuna supply companies in the world and handles over 400,000 tonnes of fish per year. It has eight processing facilities around the world and recently acquired the cannery in Pago Pago.
(3) Yuh Yow Fisheries Group & Companies is a Taiwanese owned company. Yuh Yow owns a fleet of 47 vessels operating in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Yuh Yow also owns and operates tuna processing facilities including a facility in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. It exports 12,000 mt of Sashimi grade tuna to Japan a year. The company catches around 2,400 mt of albacore tuna from the Cook Islands waters which it offloads to the canneries at Pago Pago.
Ben Ponia, the Secretary of Marine Resources points out that at the moment the Cook Islands fishing grounds are strategically placed because of their close proximity to the Pago Pago processing facilities. “We want to support the efforts of these companies to extract the highest value from fish caught in our waters and in doing so maximize our licensing returns from our resources. We also want an open discussion to explore the types of additional economic benefits that can be derived from these companies - not just from fishing actives but onshore process and beyond. For example these fleets operate a huge logistical operation in our waters and procurement of supplies, which our northern group islands could potentially benefit from”.
He adds that all parties have a vested interest in sustaining the Pago Pago facilities. As a resource owner this roundtable is a new approach to instigating a change in how we deal with our resource user, i.e. the fishing companies, which are known traditionally for their secrecy.
During the roundtable discussions the Ministry of Marine Resources officials will be presenting the proposed revisions to the longline fishing regulations and fee structure for the designated albacore fishery. In addition the exploratory fishing plans for purse seiner skipjack fishing, longline fishing of bigeye tuna and long line fishing of swordfish will be presented.
Representing Cabinet at the roundtable will be the Prime Minister the Hon. Henry Puna, Minister for Finance the Hon. Mark Brown and Minister for Marine Resources the Hon. Teina Bishop. Also invited are key heads of ministries and industry stakeholders.
MMR Media Release

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