According to a press release the government of Papua New Guinea is chalking out plan to become one of the world’s leading fish processing nations by processing a larger catch and encouraging other Pacific nations to send fish to its canneries. The data shows that sixty percent of the world’s tuna caught is in the Pacific, and over the past decade, fish processing has become a major employer in PNG.
Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority managing director Sylvester Pokajam said that being world’s eight tuna-rich Pacific Island nations PNG struggled to bring jobs onshore. He wants to improve the situation. ‘We are looking at the fishery within the PNA of about 1.2 million metric tonnes sustainably harvested every year,’ he told Radio Australia.
Radio Australia’s Pacific Economic and Business reporter, Jemima Garrett says Papua New Guinea could still become a rising power in fish-processing even without the help of other Pacific nations. The recent growth in fish processing industry is due to the duty-free and quota-free access that PNG gets to the European market as a result of its interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the European Union.
The growth in the industry would bring 1200 jobs additional as the industry now employs more than 9000 people in Papua New Guinea. Managing Director of PNG’s National Fisheries Authority, Sylvester Pokajam, says most of the new investment is in Morobe Province. He added that the Governor of Morobe Province is very supportive and his support is that he wants jobs. He also said that this is a sustainable industry and the jobs will remain forever.
