Results for Fishing

As the sea cucumber harvesting season continues into its second month after a slow start in Tonga, 12 licenses have been issued to local operators for the 2011 harvesting season for export of a reduced quota of 100 tonnes of dried beche de mers.

The largest turtle in Friday's rescue attempt to save it from slaughter for church conference feasts, died last night after an effort to rest it in the fisheries department tanks at Sopu over the weekend failed to revive it.

As the harvesting season for sea cucumbers draws to a close on September 30, a total of 23 licenses have been issued to local operators who have exported to date up to 150 tonnes of dried beche de mers to Asian markets such as Hong Kong.

Nuku'alofa's Fire Services saved the lower deck of the Pacific Blue 18, after the fishing vessel's wheelhouse caught on fire on Friday morning, May 7 at Faua Wharf.

Seventeen licenses have been issued to sea cucumbers operators to fish, process and export dried beche-de-mers from Tonga for the 2009 season, which runs from April 1 until the end of September.

Although Tonga's six month fishing season for sea cucumbers opened on April 1, the quota for this year's export harvest has not been set and licenses have not been issued to operators.

Tonga has successfully received a payment of $500,000 pa'anga from the owners of the Taiwanese fishing vessel FV Chu Huai No. 638 that was prosecuted for illegal fishing in Tongan waters in January.

By 2030 an additional 37 million tonnes of fish per year will be needed to maintain current levels of fish consumption for an expanded world population. Because traditional capture fisheries have reached their maximum production levels, fish farming represents the only way to fill the gap. But it will only do so if it is promoted and managed in a responsible fashion.

The export of the seaweed Angel's Hair, to Japan this year is expected to bring in $6 million worth of foreign currencies earnings for Tonga.