7 fishing companies to receive the $3.2M Tuna Support Fund

Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Economy Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum has today announced the names of the seven companies that will be the recipients of $3.2 million Tuna Support Fund.

These companies are Felixstow Limited, Hangton Pacific Company Limited, Hou Fisheries Limited, Sea Quest Fiji Limited, Solander Pacific Limited, Solander Viti Limited and the Fiji Fish Marketing Group Limited.

Sayed-Khaiyum says back in 2014, government had set a Tuna Support Fund to provide funding assistance to locally owned and controlled fishing companies to raise their financial capacity to compete with foreign fishing companies that received large subsidies from foreign governments.

Sayed-Khaiyum says to start off the fund, government started imposing 6 cents per liter bunker fuel levy of which 4 cents per liter is transferred to the Tuna Support Fund Account.

The Acting Prime Minister says the issue of how the fund will be distributed has been ongoing for about two years.

He says data was collected for the last seven years through specific forms that was filled by the companies and verified by auditors.

Fiji Fish Marketing Group Limited’s Executive Chairman Grahame Southwick says they are grateful to the government for the Tuna Support Fund.