Chicken of the Sea (COS) International has transferred its closed tuna cannery in American Samoa to US-based Tri Marine International.
The COS Samoa Packing plant was closed 30 September 2009, costing the jobs of more than 2,000 workers in the US territory.
As part of the agreement, Chicken of the Sea terminated its land lease, which was to have run for three more years, and the territory and Tri Marine signed a new lease agreement.
The government of American Samoa is also providing Tri Marine a tax exemption, but it's unclear how much.
Tri Marine president and CEO Renato Curto told Samoa News that operating the cannery represents a "big challenge, a major challenge for us."
The goal is to produce very high-quality tuna and bring it to the US market, he said.
When Chicken of the Sea pulled out of American Samoa last year, it cited a 2007 federal law that mandated annual minimum wage hikes in the territory until the federal minimum wage of $7.25 (€5.20) an hour was reached. The law was also cited by StarKist Co in its decision to lay off 800 workers at its cannery this year.
[Source: AP]
