National Fisheries Developments (NFD) has added a 37m long 107t pole and line vessel with a Nigata 6MG 25BX engine to its Solomon Islands flag fleet.
Upon arrival from Japan, where the boat was purchased, the Solomon Hunter was inspected by Solomon Islands maritime authorities for permanent registry under Solomon Island flag. Solomon Hunter will join NFD’s fleet of seven purse seiners and four other pole and line fishing vessels. The fleet is based at Noro, where SolTuna, the Solomon Islands’ only large-scale tuna processor, is located.
“We’re thrilled to add Solomon Hunter to our growing fleet of vessels,” said Frank Wickham, managing director of NFD. “As an organization, we feel that it’s important to continuously increase our catch in support of SolTuna’s needs for high quality raw material. We need to continue to grow in support of SolTuna.”
MSC certified
NFD is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tri Marine. The Solomon Islands catch from NFD’s purse seine and pole and line fleets are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
Tri Marine and NFD are continuing to grow their pole and line fleet in the Solomon Islands, demonstrating their commitment to fulfilling demand for pole and line caught tuna for customers.
“At Tri Marine, we are committed to sustainable fisheries and implementing industry-leading practices to support our communities, protect our fishing heritage and to provide the population with healthy proteins,” said Joe Hamby, chief operating officer of Tri Marine Group.
