PM Archives

The March/April 1989 issue of Pacific Magazine featured a cover photo of Marshall Islanders at the Aeho Fish Co. in Majuro building a 40-foot catamaran, the Te Kaaleva, which went into service between Abiang and Tarawa in Kiribati. Giff Johnson, who now serves as this magazine's Contributing Editor, took the photo.

Never Say Never: "While there is every reason to expect cyclical movements in price and production in (the) future, it is uncertain whether the booms and the busts (in fisheries) will be as pronounced as they have been in the past. With a generally more cautious approach being taken in the industry, it is unlikely that the massive overcapitalization in purse seine capacity that was witnessed around 1980 will be seen again."

Price Of Paradise: "It costs US$300 to get a telephone installed in Papeete. Electricity runs 36-cents a kwh - yet water and trash pick-up only costs $30 per year. There is no personal income tax in the Territory and only minimal taxes on a first home, but gasoline is US$3.60 per gallon and new cars are taxed 125%. These inconsistencies have produced a skewered economy. Economic and development planners in French Polynesia are implementing a new program known as 'Tahiti 2000' to contend with some of the Territory's problems."

Phosphate Future: "Plans by Kiribati to jointly carry out a study on Banaba island for possible phosphate mining by the Rambi Council of Banaba and Roche Brothers, the mining company from Australia, have been suspended. The Secretary for Natural Resources Development Marae Irata says that the agreement signed earlier with the Rambi Council and Roche Brothers was suspended at the request of the Rambi Council."