fishing industry build-up

Big powers role in Islands fishing industry build-up

The importance of fish looms large in the life of many Island groups in the Pacific. Fish is an important source of protein in the Islander’s diet; commercially, fishing is provid ing several groups with major in dustries.

Japan and the United States have key roles in Pacific fishing industries, as canners and consumers. Japanese fishing fleets supply a number of canneries. Without these two coun tries it is doubtful if places like American Samoa, Fiji and the Solo mon Islands would have viable fish ing industries.

Delegates and fisheries officers from 11 Pacific countries and terri tories at a recent meeting gave strong support to a South Pacific Commis sion committee proposal for a skip jack survey and stock assessment in the central and western equatorial regions. The survey is expected to last three years, and provide a de tailed understanding of the migra tions, stocks and growth rate of skip jack, and also to assess the avail ability and effectiveness of various types of baitfish used to catch skip jack.

The meeting also recommended that SPC ongoing fisheries pro grammes be continued. The pro grammes include a special project on outer reef fisheries, which has worked in the New Hebrides and Western Samoa, and which will move to the Cook Islands, work on turtle biology in Fiji and the Cooks, and studies of live lobster storage and biology in the Solomons.

The SPC, through committees, is actively engaged in other fisheries development, and in studies of the most suitable types of small craft for fishing.

Papua New Guinea is now getting into the fisheries act. The National Executive Council recently approved the establishment of a K 1.6 million fisheries training centre at Kavieng in New Ireland, Japan is paying for the centre as a grant-in-aid project.

The centre will be able to provide practical fisheries training for about 100 students each year. The Japanese Government will also supply training ships for the project.

Japan is taking a long term view, aimed at retaining rights to fish for bonita and tuna in the waters round Papua New Guinea. About 100 Japanese fishing boats operate in

the waters off PNG, catching an average of 5,000 tons a year.

The Trust Territory is urging the US to provide assistance, running in to millions of dollars, for fisheries development, Micronesia claims the surrounding Pacific is exploited by other nations to the tune of $lOO million a year, and the Micronesians are entitled to a share. If the econ omy is not developed, the Trust Territory could become an inter national beggar. Fishing represented a chance for economic survival.

In Fiji, a new fish cannery will be built at Levuka, base of the Japanese-owned Pacific Fishing Co.

The company hopes to finish the cannery early in 1976. It will have a capacity of 30 tons of canned tuna or 1,500 cartons of canned fish in an eight-hour shift.

The Fiji Government is right be hind the enterprise for it fully realises the importance to the economy of a major stable industry. Under an agreement with the government, 1,150 tonnes of locally-caught tuna will be supplied to the cannery in 1976. The figure will rise to 4,150 tonnes by 1979.

The company hopes to export 95 per cent of the production to the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.

To the east in American Samoa, the Star Kist and Van Camp can neries provide more than 80 per cent of the territory’s foreign exchange earnings. Recently, Van Camp ran into difficulties over water pollution.

The company paid $20,000 to settle a water pollution control case.

The US Environmental Agency took action against Van Camp be cause of alleged violations of its per mit which limits the discharge of waste water into Pago Pago Harbour.

Van Camp attorneys contended that the company had been unable to meet the conditions of the permit on schedule because of management difficulties and problems in obtaining pollution control equipment.

Mr Paul De Falco jun, regional administrator, said the case showed the Environmental Protection Agency meant business in enforcing time-tables for industrial clean up.

The fine was one of the heaviest under the 1972 Federal Water Pollu tion Control Act.