On June 13, 1977, The Fiji Times reported that frozen tuna bought from Korean fishing boats at giveaway prices of 30 cents per pound was flooding the local markets.
Local fish dealer Abdul Rahiman, who was the managing director of Lami Shopping Centre, made the statements in an interview with the newspaper. He said people had been coming to his shop offering tuna for sale.
He added that in one instance, a Fijian man who paddled from Suva Harbour’s mainstream to Lami with some tuna and Walu, claimed he caught them at the entrance to the harbour.
But when he examined the fish, it was still frozen. He said he understood people actually rowed towards Korean fishing boats to buy frozen tuna at 30 cents a pound.
He said most of these found their way into hotels, butcheries and food vendors’ stalls at the King’s Wharf. Mr Rahiman said the 30 cents a pound price would affect local fish dealers who bought freshly caught fish from local fishermen. He feared that price differences would undermine the business.
Mr Rahiman claimed the quality of frozen tuna was poor compared with local fish. He said he sold local fish for 50c to 55c a pound.
Mr Rahiman said he did not know whether the transactions between the Korean fishermen and local people were illegal. He appealed to fisheries authorities to investigate the secret transactions. Chief fisheries officer Robert Stone said he had received some complaints, but could not say how true they were.
A spokesman for Customs, in a statement through the Ministry of Information, said all Korean fishing boats that fish in international waters had permits to sell tuna to the Pacific Fishing Company Ltd in Levuka only.
He said if they wanted to sell fish elsewhere, they were required to pay duty for every fish sold. Fish sold without any duty being paid to Customs were being sold illegally.
He said when ships came for repair, the hatch or fish hold was sealed by Customs officers and it was removed only before departure.
