POST COURIER – A large foreign fishing company has delivered to the shores of Papua New Guinea its first load of certified skipjack tuna, harvested from the Pacific Island Nation (PNA) waters.
Fong Chun Formosa Fishery (FSF) Company said its first load of Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified skipjack tuna was delivered to Papua New Guinea for processing on Sunday.
The Taiwanese company said this is the first sustainable harvest for the region.
The 290 metric tons (MT) of MSC-certified skipjack were harvested by its associated purse seiners and carried from Majuro, Republic of Marshall Islands (RMI) to Wewak, East Sepik Province for processing by South Seas Tuna Corporation (SSTC), an FCF subsidiary.
According to FCF, SSTC plans to invest $US3.5 million (K9.66m) in capital expenditures to increase its production capacity to 160 MT per day.
“FCF has been a fisheries leader in the PNA region for more than 30 years,” said FCF chief executive officer WH Lee.
“This investment advances our production and sustainable operations capabilities while adding up to 700 additional labour jobs in Wewak.”
In January of this year, FCF made a public commitment to adhere to MSC sustainability standards while trading tuna harvested from PNA waters. Under the agreement, FCF ensures traceability and reporting of fish harvesting, transportation, and processing into semi-finished and finished products.
“SSTC is excited to start processing sustainable fish at our Papua New Guinea headquarters.
“This environmental approach and strategic partnerships with local leaders are not only a boost to the Wewak economy; these measures also help ensure a sustainable and plentiful fishery for the Pacific Island Nations for generations to come,” SSTC president Mike McCulley said.
Currently, more than 60 FCF-associated fishing vessels are MSC-certified.
“As home to the world’s largest sustainable tuna purse seine fishery, we have been looking forward to this day for years,” said commercial manager of PNA Fisheries Maurice Brownjohn.
“It is always a pleasure to partner with companies like FCF and SSTC, which harvest, process and market PNA fish in an environmentally conscious and ethical manner, and see fish delivered by carrier to local plants and processed in the region,” he added.
