2 May 2006

Fish shortage closes American Samoa cannery

3:26 pm on 2 May 2006

A shortage of fish has resulted in a two-day shut down for the American Samoan cannery, Samoa Packing, this week.

Its General Manager, Herman Gebauer, says the cannery is not producing today and tomorrow because there's no fish to process.

He says after increased production in the past month, and the hiring of more than 300 new employees , the cannery has gone through fish inventories faster than anticipated.

He says Samoa Packing's recruiting drive which involved hiring stations set up at spots with high foot traffic has been very successful.

Meanwhile, Star Kist Samoa resumes production today after a two week shutdown for maintenance.