Hong Kong-based catching and processing giant Pacific Andes has extended its fishing operations to Mauritania in order to tap into one of the world’s major fishing grounds as well as to increase its share in Africa’s expanding market for frozen fish.
Already well established in the North Pacific fisheries targeting whitefish and other stocks for the US and European markets, and having moved southwards to target anchovy and Jack mackerel in the South Pacific off Peru, Pacific Andes has started targeting small pelagic species such as mackerel, horse mackerel, sardines and sardinella off Mauritania.
Following an agreement with Mauritanian fishing agent Pact Industries last August, Pacific Andes has sent two of its freezer stern trawlers, which had previously been fishing in the South Pacific, to Mauritania with the possibility to increase the number of boats to five.
It is understood that Pacific Andes is also considering to expand its fleet off Mauritania further by sending its factory ship La Fayette, which had been operating in the South Pacific, to be supplied by its own refrigerated seawater (RSW) catchers as well others to be chartered from Europe, including Ireland and Scotland.
After the Mauritanian government agreed to allow pelagic pair trawling on a three-year trial basis, as previously reported in WF, the country has become more attractive for RSW catchers from such countries who prefer this method due to the current lack of onshore processing capacity.
The first phase with two Irish RSW catchers working with the Norwegian flagged factory ship Ocean Fresh has been very successful, said the vessel’s Mauritanian agent Bellahi Brahin Vall of Industrie de Peche & Representation (IPR), who had spearheaded the introduction of RSW catchers working with factory ships in Mauritania and had also secured permission for pelagic pair trawling.
“Skippers and owners of RSW catchers in Europe should realise that alternative fisheries and grounds have now become accessible for them in Mauritania which is also close to the major African markets for frozen small pelagic fish,” said Vall.
Pacific Andes’ MD Joo Thieng was quoted last August in the Vanautu & Region News & Sport newspaper that the firm had decided to expand heavily in African catching and distribution, because Pacific Andes believed that Africa had even greater growth potential than China.
