In American Samoa the Office of Petroleum Management has reported a substantial drop in diesel consumption in the first two months of the current fiscal year.
It’s believed the shut down of the Samoa Packing tuna cannery and the tsunami are the main reasons for the reduction.
Sione Kava of the Office of Petroleum Management says there was a three and a half million litre drop in diesel usage in October and November compared with the same period last year.
The American Samoa Power Authority and the canneries are the biggest users of diesel.
There was also a corresponding drop in consumption of marine diesel with fewer fishing boats refueling in port after the cannery closure.
Mr Kava says the decrease is expected to continue and his agency is considering delaying some capital improvement projects because revenues from the excise tax and fees have dropped.
One project that may go on the back burner is the replacement of two old tanks at the Utulei Tank farm.
Source: Radio New Zealand
Yes it’s true that the closer of COS and the shutdown of Starkist and one of ASPA’s plants has had an effect on fuel consumption. However as far as the fishing fleet is concerned ASG has done very little or nothing to ease the burden of the price per gallon for fuel to make it more attractive for the fishing fleet to refuel here. Furthermore nothing has been done to keep the price of fuel down to help ASPA to lower their electric rates to the local consumer. We know there is a large tax on fuel that could be waived in order to help the local economey as well as the fishing fleet. Also would like to mention how ASPA can afford to offer power at a much lower rate to then two canneries even though they use the same electricity that is created with the same cost of fuel as the local consumer.
ASG has done absolutly nothing to help the fishing industry as far as keeping the canneries operating, keeping the fishing boats here or developing the local fisheries here on island.
The only natural resource here in American Samoa is FISHING and so far the government has done nothing to improve it, develop it or come up with any financial aid to help local fishermen operate or develop there business.
What we do have are a small group of individuals who consistantly appy for and receive federal grant funds in the name of developing local fisheries however have yet to develop anything except cash in their bank accounts that gets spent on anything and everything except fishing or fisheries related projects.
Until the local government steps up and offers a real plan and a serious agenda to aid and develop fishing here in the teritory this trend of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the wrong hands will continue and fishing will slowly disapear along with all the related businesses that support it.