American Samoa is looking at temporary working permits to overcome the more lengthy processes already in place.
One of the two canneries in the territory says it needs an additional 400 workers to produce 20,000 pouches of tuna per day.
The governor is planning to take legislation to the next session of the Fono introducing guest worker permits.
But as our correspondent in Pago Pago, Monica Miller reports, the scheme will be restricted to Samoan workers:
"90 per cent of the workforce for the canneries, and the canneries between them employ more than four thousand people, are from Samoa. It is the closest neighbor and because of the close links between the two Samoas, the majority of workers come from Samoa."
Monica Miller reports
