22 Sep 2011

Samoa government to consider Taiwan proposal for fish storage facility

7:00 am on 22 September 2011

A Taiwanese company, Yuh Yow Fisheries Company, has made an offer to the Samoan government to build a fish storage facility in Apia.

The company got permission earlier this year to offload its fishing vessels to a Chinese container ship at the main Apia harbour.

The Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Le Mamea Ropati, says the company is looking for a more viable business operation and it needs government assistance.

The minister says the fishing company aims to speed up the turn round of its trawlers by using a storage facility instead of waiting for the freighter to arrive.

The fisheries division of the ministry of agriculture receives revenues from the operation but the minister says this would increase if the government gave the green light to the storage proposal.