Albacore tuna

Albacore tuna stocks have dropped to a level which makes it uneconomic for the local industry to fish.

Foreign boats, especially those from China that receive fuel subsidies that the Pacific boats do not get, are still viable.

For the past decade they have been driving the Pacific fleet out of business.

Tonga and other FFA countries asked the Tuna Commission to set a target catch for albacore as the first step towards a harvest strategy that would put the fishery back on an economically sustainable footing.

Radio Tonga reports that will be good news for Tonga’s struggling tuna fleet which has shrunk from 27 boats to just 5 over the past 15 years as increasing numbers of foreign vessels enter the fishery.

With albacore stocks declining and new Chinese boats receiving fuel subsidies from their government that Pacific nations cannot afford, the Pacific Tuna Industry Association told journalists in Nadi the industry in some countries like Tonga has collapsed.