Fishing boom for some, bust for others [1]
Saturday, November 30, 2002 - 09:12. Updated on Friday, February 19, 2016 - 18:40.
From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 17, no. 3, November 2002.
A sudden surge in the development of the Tonga’s fishing industry saw 48 fishing boats registered to fish in Tongan waters by July 2002.
This high number of fishing boats for Tonga, included 21 boats fishing for Snapper and 27 for Tuna, while nine of the Tuna boats are foreign boats, based in Tonga.
Foreign fishing vessels require a US$10,000 licence per vessel to fish in Tonga for 12 months, and nearly all of the foreign fishing boats here are Korean.
The export of fresh tuna from Tonga took an upward turn in 2001, when Tonga exported 1202 metric tonnes compared with only 786 metric tonnes in 2000. During the same period of time the export of snapper and grouper also went up from 140 tonnes in 2000 to 186 tonnes in 2001.
The export value of marine products in 2001 also went up by $4 million to $14 million, compared with $10 million in 2000.
Fish exports for 2002 are expected to increase.
Bankrupt
Despite these signs of a bright future for the fishing industry there have been a few casualties during the year.
The Friendly Islands Fishing, with six fishing boats has declared itself bankrupt and is currently under receivership with KPMG chartered accountants of Fiji.
Meanwhile, another local company, the Discovery Corporation, has been taken over by a Korean company, South Seas Fishing.
The biggest shake-up in the fishing industry is the proposed selling by the Tongan government of its majority share-holding in the Sea Star Fishing Company Ltd. to a Hawaiian-based company, Maui Pacific. The Secretary for Fisheries, Hon. ‘Akau‘ola, said that Government and the buyers had agreed for the sale, but the transaction had not taken place.
It was rumoured that government was selling its shares for about $2.5 million.