China’s Pingtan Marine Enterprise Ltd has completed construction on two squid jigging vessels which will go into operation in the Southwest Atlantic and Southeast Pacific Oceans by late December 2016.
Pingtan currently operates 135 fishing vessels, 12 of which are operating in the Bay of Bengal in India and 13 of which are operating in Indo-Pacific Waters. The two new vessels, which are twice the average gross tonnage of its other fishing vessels, will help the company’s production capacity recover to around 23%.
Xinrong Zhuo, chairman and CEO of the company, said: "Since mid-2015, market squid prices started to climb and, in 2016, China's bulk purchase prices have more than doubled.”
“We expect that the two squid jigging vessels will diversify our product mix by providing different type of squid products from the regions and accelerate the expansion of our fishing territories worldwide, as well as allowing us to remain competitive as we may rapidly adjust our strategy in light of market changes."
He added that the newly constructed squid jigging vessels will increase the company’s fishing efficiency and accuracy and it expects to begin recognising sales from them during the first quarter of 2017.
The company’s previous financial results indicate that each of its fishing vessels can generate annual revenue of approximately US$3 million with annual net income of approximately US$800,000 to US$1 million.
Squid jigging is a technique that uses a lead sinker with a hook moulded into it to attract squid.
