THE MINISTER OF ANIMAL AND FISHERY RESOURCES INVESTIGATED WITH THE PORT AUTHORITY ABOUT THE SITUATION REGARDING OFF-GRADE TUNA SHORTAGE

Activités portuaires Tuesday 16 November 2021

In order to find a solution to the shortage of fish named ‘’ off-grade tuna’’ on the Ivorian markets, Mr. Sidi TOURE initiated a series of meetings with stakeholders in the fishery resources industry, in Abidjan. It is against that background that he went to Abidjan Port Authority on Wednesday 13th October, 2021 to hold a working session with Mr. Hien Yacouba SIÉ, the Managing Director. During the meeting, Mr.  Bamoussa OUATTARA, Director of the Fishing Terminal gave a complete overview of the participation of Abidjan Port Authority in the distribution chain of ‘’off-grade’’ tuna.

Thereafter, Mr. Hien Yacouba SIÉ indicated that the primary responsibility of Abidjan Port Authority is to accommodate and handle vessels which call at the Fishing Terminal, and then, to regulate the transit operations of fishing products.

After this clarification, the MD said that he was willing and eager to enforce any decision made by the Ministry       of Fishery Resources to solve the shortage problem which gave rise to the hike in off-grade tuna price on the Ivorian market. We shall know that off-grade tuna is tuna fish which is damaged or undersized or tuna fish caught by tuna boats and not intended for canning.