Kosrae goes for

the tuna dollars

KOSRAE in the Federated States of Micronesia is to start exporting tuna. The state government has signed a contract with Perth-based ACME International Freezing Systems for a As 6 million (U 554.55 million) cold store. The plant will be capable of processing 120 tonnes of fish a day.

Initially, the venture will process fish from Asian vessels, producing both frozen tuna and a chilled product to be airfreighted to Japan. Kosrae is promot ing the scheme as providing processing facilities close to the central Pacific tuna fishing grounds thus saving boats from taking their catch a much further distance to Asian ports or American Samoa. The plant will provide employ ment on an island where there is little

manufacturing activity.

But ACME, which will retain a role in the venture after the cold store is

operating, sees the plant as eventually

being supplied from boats owned by Kosrae State. The company is also interested in providing similar plants to other parts of Micronesia, including Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, where the government wishes to establish a tuna transhipment port.

ACME marketing manager Hans Schutte said the region could support several tuna cold store processing plants.

ACME has built several cold stores in South-east Asia, including a seafood processing plant in Thailand. □