Kiribati wants to ship more grouper and lobster as well tuna to China, according to the nation’s fisheries minister, who’s in Shanghai this week drumming up business at a time when high global tuna supply is softening prices.
Tetabo Nakara, minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources Development, was in China attending the South Pacific Island Countries Joint Pavilion at the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The conference has the goal of promoting liberalization in trade and currency transactions between China and the South Pacific.
Speaking alongside Nakara at a fish-cutting ceremony for a bigeye tuna, Chen Yi Feng, secretary general of the council overseeing the trade zone, said Kiribati has “bountiful” ocean resources in fish, minerals, and also in agricultural goods and could also be a tourist mecca for Chinese visitors.
“We want to increase cooperation with the South Pacific islands,” Chen said.
Kiribati, which gained independence from Britain in 1979, consists of 33 atolls scattered across nearly 1.5 million square miles of the central Pacific Ocean, as well as Banaba Island in the western Pacific. The country is a key player in the global tuna production and boasts a massive exclusive economic zone of about 3.5 million square kilometers. Access fees from tuna fishing contributes more than 80 percent of Kiribati government revenues.
However, relations with China are a big political issue in Kiribati, as the number of Chinese-owned businesses and immigrants in Kiribati has increased rapidly in recent years, leading to debates over abuses in residency programs for investors.
Photo courtesy of International Institute for Sustainable Development
