Huanan Fishery in the Cook Islands is seeking the possibility of the regular transhipping of catch in the Penrhyn island harbour.
Transhipping is the movement of fishing stocks to larger vessels to allow continued longer periods at seas.
Min Liu, the Rarotonga based operations manager of Huanan, which is a subsidiary of the Chinese company Luen Thai, has been in Penrhyn for talks with the Island Council and to investigate the possibility of transhipping for the Huanan longline fleet.
Cooks Penrhyn Island Photo: Ewan Smith
Huanan Fishery has 29 vessels licensed to fish in the Cook Islands.
Some Penrhyn islanders have speculated that Huanan Fishery also has plans to set up a plant to process by-catch but the Ministry of Marine Resources says this isn't the case.
The Ministry's Andrew Jones says the Penrhyn Island Council would be able to charge "some sort of fee" for tonnage and this would be in addition to fees charged for transhipment licences.
