Canned fish factory belonging to Starkist. (Photo: Stock File)

Starkist warns it might close its cannery due to lack of tuna

AMERICAN SAMOA
Thursday, August 13, 2015, 03:50 (GMT + 9)

American Samoa's largest private sector employer has warned that 2,000 jobs are at risk because of the lack of tuna deliveries to its cannery.

The warning was expressed by the fish processing firm StarKist in a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of a rallying effort for an exemption to the new fishing rules.

The firm explains that due to the closure of the high seas as a conservation measure to US purse seiners, which means the entire American Samoa fleet has had to fish much further afield and have its catch processed elsewhere, informed Radio New Zealand.

The President and CEO of StarKist which oversees the Samoa operations, Andrew Choe, pointed out the firm holds a certain amount of raw materials in cold storage, there are no deliveries scheduled until the second half of August.

Starkist is exploring all options, but, according to the entrepreneur, they are quite limited and unsustainable over the long term.

Media sources consulted by FIS.com informed that a petition was sent by Tri Marine International to NOAA for an emergency role that would allow the purse seiners that deliver half of their catches to the American Samoa canneries to fish in the high seas.

Tri Marine stressed the closure of the seas to US flagged fishing fleets meant 12 purse seiners based in American Samoa would struggle to supply enough tuna to Samoa Tuna Processors cannery.

Sources from that firm also stated that the unusually low tuna price, and the higher cost of fishing grounds in the region brought the ability of American Samoa-based tuna vessels to operate profitably into serious question.

A firm’s spokesperson has also explained that the loss of a reliable supply of tuna from these vessels will jeopardise the ability of the canneries in American Samoa to compete in world markets.

[email protected]
www.seafood.media

Print