Niue's fish processing factory is about to receive a major boost with five longliner trawlers from French Polynesia given year long licences to fish the country's exclusive economic zone, starting next month.
The factory, a joint venture with the Niue government and Auckland based Reef Shipping, has been operating at just a fraction of its capacity with fish provided by two of its own trawlers.
The chief executive of Reef, Wayne Harris-Daw, says they presently export about two and a half tonnes of fish a week to the US and New Zealand but new markets will be sought for a potential twelve fold increase.
"With the increased catch we will be looking to sell fish into China, Australia and the US, and there will be a combination of chilled fish. There is also albacore that we catch which will either be loined out for the chilled market or come back, via New Zealand, to Pago Pago for the cannery.'"
