Tonga's new export fish market facility remains unfinished while the government is looking for donor funding to complete it and to hopefully boost Tonga's dying fishing industry.

The new Tu'imatamoana Fish Market that was renovated at a cost of just over $1 million pa'anga funded under a Stabex Program of the European Union and officially opened in January remains unfinished.

The opening of the new fish market and a new Agro Building Complex, on the Nuku'alofa seafront was aimed to boost the enthusiasm of Tongan fishermen and growers to export more of their produce.

But the Tu'imatamoana renovation was limited to the upgrade of the local fishing market and provision of a new ice-making machines.

Funds ran out

Dr Vailala Matoto, the Director for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries told Matangi Tonga Online on October 13, that Tu'imatamoana remained unfinished as the funds ran out before the export processing area was completed.

He said that renovation of the facility was limited to that of the local fish market and the provision of new ice making machines for immediate use of fishermen who would sell their fish.

"We are looking for donors to finish the area for the export processing. But what is more important to us in the pipeline is to find ways to revive a dying fishing industry, with the decline in the fishing and production of tuna and deepwater snapper," he said.

Dr Vailala said in order to revive the industry Tonga must attract overseas investors to come in and set up joint venture operations because to invest in fishing of tuna required a lot of capital. He said a lot of fishing businesses had collapsed because of the worldwide economic crisis and had not recovered.

"But I am still hopeful and optimistic that it would eventually start to come up slowly."

Meanwhile, the new facility remains barely occupied by sellers as evident by shoppers during peak shopping hours on Saturdays.