THE Taiwan-based Fu Long Marine has launched a new tuna purse seiner for Tri Marine, which operates out of Noro, West New Georgia in Western Province.
The new fishing boat is called ‘Solomon Diamond.’ Fu Long Marine, a boat building company located in Kaohsiung.
The new look fishing vessel is expected to boost tuna catch for National Fisheries Developments (NFD) Ltd to ensure it meets its customers’ demand.
The vessel after its arrival in Solomon Islands will be registered in Honiara.
A statement from Fu Long Marine said the arrival of Solomon Diamond represents a milestone for the owner (Tri-Marine) and also for a number of companies that participated in the construction phase. Tri Marine owns the NFD.
According to Aisea Alepio, a SolTuna officer based in Noro, NFD’s Tri Marine is currently supplying tuna to SolTuna but cannot meet the demand so an additional boat is a bonus to keep up with the supply demand.
“A few years ago, the Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources announced that the tuna industry operating out of Noro contributes $300M to the national coffer per annum. So, this will greatly benefit the Solomon Islands,” he said.
Solomon Diamond will be the 9th vessel added to the NFD fishing fleet. It is still not clear when the fishing vessel will arrive in the country.
Established in 1977 as a government enterprise, NFD is now a successful private fishing company owned by Tri Marine.
With five purse seine fishing vessels and three pole and line vessels, NFD catches around 25,000 metric tons of tuna per year, supplied to local cannery SolTuna and overseas buyers.
The fleet employs approximately 300 people and is a major contributor to the Solomon Islands economy. Each vessel is MSC and Fair Trade certified.
The fleets are Solomon Emerald, Solomon Jade, Solomon Ruby, Solomon Pearl, Solomon Opal, Solomon Hunter, Soltai 101 and Soltai 105.
By MOFFAT MAMU
