AFT Holdings dismayed by lack of U.S. commitment to Pacific Ocean tuna fisheries
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [Saving Seafood] -July 17, 2014 -
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, (The following was released by AFT Holdings:)
American treaty negotiations with the Pacific Island Nations concluded Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand, with a “No Deal” conclusion, leaving the United States Tuna Fleet without fishing access to the Pacific Ocean in 2015.
The proposed closure in U.S. territories in the Pacific currently under review by the Administration to revise the status to Protected Monument Marine Parks, without consultation with Industry or science, has created an environment of increased pressure to secure fishing access within the remaining ocean.
AFT Holdings, Inc. is a shareholder of Ocean Global and Sea Global, the largest US Tuna Fleet, which operates 12 purse seine vessels navigating the Pacific. The vessels provide more than 100,000 tons of fish per year serving the U.S. canned market. AFT noted their extreme disappointment in the outcome of the treaty negotiations, saying, "Although we do hope and expect to have an agreement in the next couple weeks it will not be without extreme apprehension and real cost.”
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