Excerpt and Photo from mvariety.com
THE perilous state of American Samoa’s last tuna cannery is an outcome that experts have long warned about. An international shift in the fishing industry, largely driven by countries with lower workforce standards and pay and subsidized infrastructure, makes U.S. competition in the cannery industry unavailing.
In desperate attempts to cling to the last of what was once four canneries in American Samoa, some industrial fishers and cannery operators are trying to blame Pacific conservation efforts as the culprits. Despite the anticipated demise, it is disingenuous to pit the vitality of the ocean against American Samoa’s livelihood. This divisive approach offers false hope that the territory’s cannery can somehow survive if we don’t protect the health of the Pacific Remote Islands.
Located in the middle of the Pacific ocean, Howland, Baker, Jarvis and Wake Islands; Johnston and Palmyra Atolls; and Kingman Reef are home to some of our planet’s last wild and healthy ocean ecosystems. The islands, atolls and reefs also hold rich voyaging and cultural history among indigenous Pacific Islanders.