Global demand for canned product, as well as for frozen loins, has been very weak with buyers sitting on the side lines waiting for a further break in the market. However, raw material inventories in Thailand are so low that canners there are now under pressure to buy. It is estimated that there are fewer than 50 days of inventory remaining in canners’ freezers, based on current production rates.

McLane Global expects that the speed at which raw material prices are trending downward will slow, but that there may still be some room for further declines. However, the summer’s fishing restrictions in the Western Pacific fishing grounds will remain in force through the end of September, causing some concern that pricing is beginning to reach a bottom. There is large pent up demand from both branded and private label customers in the USA. Historically large purchases will begin to take place in October and November for arrivals in the U.S. on the first on the first of January in order to seize on favorable duty rates of the new year’s tuna quota. We still encourage buyers to take advantage of spot inventories which have not yet reflected replacement costs.

Source: Mc Lane Global Report

The Crystal Corp. will release an initial amount of $ 8 million for the mobilization of this tuna cannery plant, the city officials in this city said during an interview with newsmen.

Along with some members of the city legislative body, City Mayor Ernesto T. Matugas said the proposed tuna cannery site is located in an almost three-hectare area at barangay Lipata, about seven kilometers away from the heart of the city. The area is also facing Pacific Ocean.

“The construction of this tuna cannery plant might start before the end of this year or early next year and expected to finish within eight months,” said Mayor Matugas.

He said the modern and first class tuna factory will generate 2,500 to 3,000 jobs when it started.

Avoiding on technical aspect, the city chief executive viewed that the plant is “really a modern-type and first class tuna cannery plant where millions tons of tuna fish will be accommodated when fully operational”.

“This is really a big boost to our local economy and will add livelihood to our fishing groups and fishermen, not only in this booming city but as well as other neighboring cities and provinces in Mindanao,” emphasized Mayor Matugas.

He added that all top local leaders in the city and the province, Surigao del Norte solons Rep. Francisco T. Matugas (1st district), Rep. Guillermo Romarate, Jr. (2nd district) and Gov. Sol. F. Matugas, are already pushing their all-out assistance for the commencement of the tuna cannery project which will start very soon as officials and technical men of the two American-Japan business partners already visited the city several times.

As this developed, the city chief executive ordered the planning development staff, engineering and other concerned division chiefs to assist the company in the preparation of their additional government requirement for the start and mobilization in the project site.

“This fishing business is really a big push of the growing economy in the city and the province,” said Rep. Romarate in a separate interview.

Meanwhile, statistical record from different sources of the government and private fishing business groups showed that fishing is a P50-billion industry in the Philippines, contributing almost five percent of the country’s gross national product (GNP).

With an annual production volume of almost 2.5 million metric tons of fish, it directly provides livelihood and employment to almost 1.5 million Filipinos.

Tuna is among the 200 or so species of fish found in the country that have high commercial value. The Philippines ranks seventh among the top tuna producing countries in the world in terms of fresh/frozen tuna and canned tuna.

To-date, the multi-sectoral stakeholder groups gathered together and talk about their common concern on how to strengthen the Philippine tuna industry and become more globally competitive.

The tuna fishing industry had never been this promising and lucrative since its birth only on this side of the earth at General Santos City, lying at the head of the Sarangani Bay, in Southern Mindanao as early as 1970.

Accordingly, an average catch daily capacity of 750 metric tons (MT) and employing around 7,800 plant workers in General Santos City and neighboring areas, the volume of catch on a per day basis is even insignificant as to the distribution in the market.

As of September of the previous year alone, the total catch has reached a voluminous 5,031, 866 kilos where ‘sashimi” grade adult tuna comprises 35 percent or about 1,774,922 kilos.

The locally distributed adult tuna for local consumption is the largest 65 percent chunk and distributed to neighboring cities of Butuan, Agusan, Surigao, Davao, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro, South Cotabato and as far as Japan and the U.S., skipjack for canned markets in Europe and North America.

Source: (PNA)

Mr. Bower is recognized as one of the world’s leading experts on economics, politics and business. Prior to joining CSIS, he has served as president of the US-ASEAN Business Council for a decade and has formed BrooksBowerAsia, specializing in South-East Asian business affairs.

It is interesting to note that this year’s Conference too is heading to be a mega event, expecting the participation of 700 delegates from 60 over countries and thousands of visitors to the exhibition. The conference cum exhibition is the 11th in the series of biennial global tuna industry events, jointly organized by INFOFISH and several other international and regional organizations.

Meanwhile, over 30 well-known key tuna industry leaders from all over the world too will address TUNA 2010 on challenges and issues faced by the industry in today increasingly competitive and volatile global tuna scenario (Speakers line-up). They will critically evaluate and examine various aspects of the industry, from resources to global market situation with a special focus on sustainability of the industry.

Full details of the conference programme and other information can be found at www.tunatradeconference.com

An exhibition of about 100 booths, organized by Baird Events, Australia, displaying latest worldwide tuna industry products and services will also be held in tandem with the conference. Details of the exhibition are available at www.bairdmaritime.com

Source: Tunatradeconference.com

“The first phase of layoffs will commence on Aug. 28, affecting 380 employees,” StarKist Samoa General Manager Brett Butler testified Thursday before the U.S. territory’s House Commerce Committee.

He said the rest of the layoffs would occur in October, but no firm date has been set.

The panel called the hearing to learn the status of the company’s planned layoffs, which were announced in May as a way to save money.

The job cuts will shrink StarKist’s work force in American Samoa to less than 1,200, down from a peak of more than 3,000 two years ago.

StarKist has had to contend with federally mandated minimum-wage increases, but Butler said other costs in such areas as utilities and transportation are also rising.

Lawmakers were hoping Gov. Togiola Tulafono’s administration would find ways to help StarKist and prevent the layoffs.

“This is a tremendous economic blow to American Samoa, especially families who will be without a paycheck in the future,” Rep. Galu Satele Jr. said.

In response to a question from Satele, Butler said the government had not offered any assistance to StarKist.

“Fact of the matter is, there is no real assistance since the announcement in May,” he said.

StarKist officials were scheduled to appear Monday before the territory’s Tax Exemption Board to seek a tax exemption on all incoming materials and supplies associated with tuna operations, Butler said.

The layoffs follow September’s closure of Chicken of the Sea’s tuna cannery in American Samoa, which cost the jobs of 2,100 workers.

The company also cited a 2007 minimum wage law that mandated an increase for workers in 18 industries in American Samoa until the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is reached. The cannery workers’ current minimum wage of $4.76 an hour is set to increase by 50 cents Sept. 30 and reach $7.25 an hour by 2014.

Source: Forbes

The IATTC is in charge of the management and conservation of tuna in the East Pacific. The waters are a high source of income for Taiwanese who export the raw fish. Taiwan has been an IATTC observer since 1973, but this status has never allowed voting rights for Taiwan within the commission. An official from Taiwan’s Fishery Agency, Tsay Tzu-yaw, explained why Taiwan’s recent entry is significant.

“Membership into the commission will allow Taiwan to vote in the commission’s policy-making process and gives a boost to the rights of Taiwanese fishermen. It’s also very helpful in protecting Taiwanese fishing boats operating on the high seas,” said Tsay.

Meanwhile, Taiwan also has membership in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission as well as the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Blue fin Tuna (CCSBT). The IATTC has 20 member countries.

Source: Radio Taiwan International

He said the petition will be presented during the annual meeting of the commission in December. “The Philippines will request the lifting of the ban… We will make a formal representation and we are already preparing our argument,” Mr. Sarmiento said. The ban on tuna fishing in the high seas — waters outside national jurisdiction — of the western and central areas of the Pacific Ocean was adopted by the commission and voluntarily implemented by its members in a bid to allow yellow fin and big-eyed tuna stock — fast depleting due to overfishing — to replenish, Mr Sarmiento said.

Mr Sarmiento explained in a separate phone interview that the Philippines voluntarily observes the ban “as a member of the commission” and a signatory to the agreement adopting the ban. While the commission has no power over its members, Mr Sarmiento said it can ask them to restrict from their waters fishermen of countries that fail to observe the ban. “Right now, all we can do is comply to keep good relations with the other countries as a member of the commission.

Another thing is we can move to try to change the existing policy,” Mr Sarmiento said. Bayani B. Fredeluces, executive director of Socsksargen Federation of Fishing and Allied Industries, Inc., said “an early lifting of the ban is one of the aspirations of the industry.” He noted that the ban has resulted in 600 workers losing their jobs in General Santos City alone. “A rough estimate of 600 direct jobs or 600 fisher folk were affected,” Mr Fredeluces said. “Their fish catch definitely decreased and, in turn, this also had an effect on indirect jobs related to tuna fishing, such as canning workers.”

Last April, eight Pacific island states — Papua New Guinea, Palau, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Tuvalu and the Solomon Islands — had said they would push for an extension of the ban.

Source: Islandbusiness.com

Conservationists are calling on the Government to support the closure of high sea fisheries in the Pacific to industrial fish netting.

Two areas have already been closed because of concerns about illegal fishing and plummeting tuna stocks.

Now island nations are trying to do more to stop the problem.

It is called purse seine fishing, an industrial method that plunders the Pacific of tuna.

The problem is the nets trap juvenile fish and other non-target species like sharks.

In the process of targeting skipjack tuna they kill a lot of the baby big eye and yellow fin which contributes to the overfishing.

The insatiable world demand for tuna has also affected charter operators in New Zealand.

“Twenty years ago out from Whakatane you’d get a thousand yellow fin tuna in a season,” says Andrew grant, owner of Ultimate Charters.

“…these days if you catch one tuna in a season it’s a bit of a surprise.”

At the start of this year 2.5 million square miles of international waters were closed to purse seine fishing.

Now there’s a push to see a further two areas blocked to an ever increasing number of vessels from Asia, Europe and the US.

“New Zealand has not been able to publicly commit to support this on behalf of the Pacific Island countries. As Greenpeace we are in full support of the closure of these pockets,” says Lagi Toribau, Greenpeace Oceans campaigner.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Phil Heatley says he is happy to consider a proposal.

“We can’t commit to it until we see a formal proposal but we are happy to look at a formal proposal,” he says.

New Zealand has four vessels that do purse seine fishing in the Pacific and the Government stands by the practice.

But conservationists say it’s unsustainable and the old method of pole fishing is the only fair way to get a catch.

The possibility of closing another two high sea areas will be made in September at the Pacific Tuna Commission

Source: 3news.co.nz

Source: Radio Australia

Chinchilla said Tuesday she ordered the probe after receiving details on the alleged attack outlined in a letter from the Billfish Foundation, a Miami-based anglers group.

The foundation says a Venezuelan flagged tuna purse seiner attacked a U.S. sportfishing boat near Garza, Costa Rica, on Aug. 1.

It says the seiner veered from its course and headed directly toward the U.S. boat while a helicopter dropped incendiary devices prompting the U.S. crew to leave the area.

The foundation says this was the 10th vessel attacked off Costa Rica in the past two years.

The purse seiner is at this moment offloading tuna at Caldera’s docks the main port of Costa Rica in the Pacific side, after finishing the boat will drydocking for maintenance and various repairing jobs in the port of Callao in Peru

The goal was to force the sports fishing boat from an area favored by spinner dolphins, which suggests the presence of tuna below the water.

This is the latest confrontation between a large commercial fish factory and sports fishing boats. The confrontation happened just 20 miles offshore from Playa Garza on the Nicoya Peninsula, according to the boat owner.

He is Gary Carter, and his boat is the Silver-Rod-O. He is a successful sports fisherman who has been in Costa Rica since the late 1980s. He is irked that the Costa Rican government permits such activities within waters it controls.

The confrontation happened Sunday. The commercial tuna boat is the La Rosa Mistica, which was not flying a national flag, according to Carter. He said the confrontation was unexpected:

“We were celebrating one of our guest’s first-ever sailfish release, when the seiner veered from it’s course and headed directly toward our boat. The helicopter then began making passes over us, as it circled the dolphin school. As the seiner came closer and began setting it’s net, the helicopter started dropping incendiary devises around us and the school of spinners. Several landed within 50 meters of our boat, and in all directions, there was smoke billowing from the water.

“We were determined to continue fishing the area and not yield our position, but the seiner headed straight toward us, threatening to either encircle us in their net or be plowed into the sea unless we abandoned the school of dolphin. Rather than endanger our guests, we retreated and watched and listened as the La Rosa Mistica closed the net and it’s crew obnoxiously celebrated it’s victory.”

Carter said the Venezuelan captain declined to engage in a radio conversation and would not respond to hails from the sports fishing boat.

The explosive devices dropped by the helicopter crew are designed to chase away the dolphin.

This is not the first time Carter has been threatened by commercial boats. “This is certainly not the first encounter of it’s type in Costa Rican waters, but it’s time that something is done about it.” he said.

Carter also attributed the decline of large tuna to heavy fishing by commercial craft like the La Rosa Mistica. He said that the average tuna catch now is from 25 to 35 pounds in place of fish weighing over 100 pounds in the past.

A study by the Billfish Foundation found that North Americans traveling here in 2008 to fish generated $599 million or about 2 percent of Costa Rica’s gross domestic product. It found that sports fishing was a bigger generator of income to the country than commercial fishing.

The study, conducted in 2009 by The Billfish Foundation, Southwick Associates and the University of Costa Rica, revealed 283,790 anglers visited Costa Rica. It was estimated 22 percent of those tourists visited the country for the exclusive purpose of fishing.

From that $599 million the study also showed sportfishing generated almost $78 million in tax revenues for Costa Rica and 63,000 jobs. In comparison, the effect of commercial fishing for the same species sought by anglers generated approximately $528 million to Costa Rica’s gross domestic product. Commercial fishing contributed $68.6 million in tax revenue and created 57,000 jobs.

Source: AMCosta Rica