MORE fish species should be introduced to boost the export market, says Fiji Fish Marketing Group Ltd chief executive Russell Dunham.
He said it was also important for Fiji to maintain the value of its fish exports rather than concentrating only on volume.
"A number of fishing operators catch other pelagic species of fish for export, such as mahi, wahoo and swordfish. These species of fish as well as deep water snapper species offer scope for increased exports," Mr Dunham said.
He said more research was needed into these species that offered export potential and an offshore aquaculture suitable for these species of fish. This type of research was costly and often did not derive any economic return, he added.
He said the majority of fish exporters took measures to maximise the returns on their catch or what he said could be called value adding.
"In this regard we weigh up the fresh versus frozen option, as well as value adding such as filleting and steaking versus whole fish.
"Some of our catch, particularly sashimi grade fish does not lend it self to further processing as this will actually decrease its value, for other species it is often economically advantageous to value add," Mr Dunham said.
