Polynesian fishermen strike deal for exports

SIX French Polynesian fish ing companies formed into a cooperative have signed a deal with an export com pany to guarantee regular opening of their catch overseas, daily newspaper La Depeche de Tahiti reported.

The deal, signed early August, between the concern, named “Armement Cooperatif de Polynesie -ACP- Polynesian Fishing Cooperative” and “Pacifique Aquaculture Services”, covers comprehensive market ing of their tuna catch.

“Pacifique Aquaculture Services -PAS-” has similar partnership deals with fishing companies in New Caledonia and Korea, whereby PAS purchases all of its partners’ catch and sells 95 per cent of it typically to American Samoa’s canneries, California and France.

The remaining unexported five per cent are sold locally.

In exchange, the fishing companies

undertake to conform to the required export

quality standards.

Early August, ACP increased its fleet to

14 ships with the delivery of a Fiji-built, 177 million French Pacific Francs (US$l.77 million) tuna fishing vessel “Oiseau des lies” (Islands Bird).

The vessel is the fourth of a five-unit order placed with Fiji Shipyards by ACP.

All ships are of similar class.

The purchase was financed through an agreement between ACP and th European Development Fund.

ACP president Gilles Le Boucher, while receiving the ship, said it would be mainly used to catch tuna for the export market.

“For export, there’s no problem, the growth is exponential. It’s so big, actually, that we have to be careful because other Pacific islands are currently watching us and trying to catch up with us,” he said.

“For instance, in Fiji, I’ve seen recently people coming from the United States, Europe, trying to set up fish processing units, based on the same kind that we are currently implementing,” he pointed out.

PAS’s aim is to reach a catch of some 1,100 tonnes this year and build up to 4,000 by 2003. (PINA Nius Online) ■