American Samoa has offered its support and assistance to Tri Marine International for the redevelopment of the cannery facility in Atu’u once occupied by the now closed COS Samoa Packing.
Tri Marine official Joe Hamby was in the territory last week and met Gov. Togiola Tulafono to discuss the ongoing plans that Samoa Tuna Processors - Tri Marine’s local cannery operator - have with regard to the long term use of the former COS plant.
“We have viewed the different options that Tri Marine has presented on the proposed operations,†the governor said in a news release yesterday from the Governor’s Office.
“Tri Marine’s most long-term oriented option is also the most expensive option, and this takes into account a sea change in processing philosophy - a more environmentally sound approach that takes advantage of the latest technology and practices in the tuna processing industry,†he said.
“We were very pleased to see that Tri Marine is looking to do right as stewards of the environment and as good corporate citizens of the Territory,†he said.
According to ASG, this option for the redevelopment of the canning facilities looks to be about 18 - 24 months in the making.
Nonetheless, Tri Marine has plans to take advantage of the facilities in their present condition in starting some smaller processing in order to begin earning income from the property and assets that are on site, according to the governor’s office.
This would involve the activation of the much smaller alia boats, which are very limited as far as their capacity to carry and land large numbers of fish. However, this is a welcome addition to the active market for fish processing and ASG is hopeful that the smaller alia boats will prove to be useful in this fledgling market, the statement says.
The governor says ASG offered its ongoing assistance to help Tri Marine to identify and apply for any appropriate support that would aid Samoa Tuna Processors to stand up their operations and carry out new, more efficient operations in the Territory.
The news release also states that meetings with StarKist Samoa have also revealed “some collaborative possibilities that will help grow and strengthen the tuna industry as a whole in our islands.
“One such project may be the more efficient use of byproducts from the canning process in order to produce energy for the plants,†the statement says. “ASG is committed to investigating these potential projects further in order to build the infrastructure capacity to support our number one export industry.â€
