THE PHILIPPINES J TRUST TERRITORIES AND EQUATORIAL PACIFIC 



A report J Outlook for Development of a Tuna Industry in the 

 Philippines (Warfel, 1950) s indicates that the possibilities for 

 production of large quantities of tuna in the vicinity of the Philip- 

 pines are poor (under standard United States fishing methods) . In 

 this report it is pointed out that one of the important reasons why 

 Philippine waters would offer little to the American tuna fleet is 

 that "live bait fishing is handicapped by restricted bait supply". 



The situation in the Trust Territory is similar but, in addi- 

 tion, obstacles of importance in the utilization of any stocks of 

 tuna in the area are (1) absence of processing plants or difficul- 

 ties of building and operating processing plants in the area, (2) 

 unavailability of local fishermen trained in operations of large 

 tuna vessels, and (3) probable unwillingness of United States tuna 

 fishermen to move into the area for an extended period of time. 



At the present time consideration is being given to requesting 

 new bids for the lease of a fish cannery located at Tutuila, American 

 Samoa. The cannery is complete with equipment and facilities, and is 

 reported to be able to handle 21 tons of tuna per 8-hour day. Actual 

 rated capacity of the equipment is 1,000 eases per day. The modern 

 installation consists of 4 buildings, new devices for hand packing 

 tuna, a rotary drier for processing the waste products into fish meal, 

 and a cold storage area capable of freezing and/or storing approxi- 

 mately 240 tons of tuna. Dock facilities are adequate for fishing 

 vessels, and electric power is available. Vessel maintenance facili- 

 ties are limited. Steps are being taken to increase the limited 

 water-storage capacity. Supply of local vNorkers is reported to be 

 adequate on the basis of trial runs. Transportation to and from the 

 United States is via steamship lines which call at the Island at 

 monthly intervals. 



In connection with leasing the cannery j, the Gtovernment of Ameri- 

 can Samoa is chiefly concerned in improving the local economy by pro- 

 viding employment and technical training for the local inhabitants. The 

 cannery was erected following World War II by private enterprise, but was 

 never successfully operated due mainly to a shortage of raw material (tuna) 

 Distance of American Samoa (2,276 miles south of Hawaii) from established 

 fishing grounds of the United States tuna fleet would necessitate exploi- 

 tation of new fishing areas. Attempts by the previous cannery owners to 

 take tuna near Samoa by established American methods were unsuccessful. 



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