Monthly newsletter of the tuna fishing industry

According to the report even at rock bottom price, the canneries have refused to receive Bigeye tuna for the last 3 weeks. Skipjack
captured by the 30 French vessels cannot find a purchaser (45% of the 175,000 tons annual catch). In Spain, where they sell some of
their catch, there are about 130,000 tons in stock, enough to provide the plants full operation for the next several months.

The Taiwanese and Ghanaians have already stopped fishing. The big Asian and African canneries are operated at reduced capacities.
At the beginning of the crisis, the canners packed above-normal capacity to take advantage of the low raw material prices, thinking
that the low prices would not last. Now, they are all heavily loaded with stocks. Canneries are now operating at reduced capacities.

The world consumption is hardly increasing. The growing market segment is the "mixed" tuna recipes with a lot of vegetables and
very little tuna. Europeans are blaming the U.S. industry for using vegetable proteins to fill up the can around 10% of the canned
weight. With the present frozen tuna price, it's not worthwhile; however, it is destabilizing the market.

In Vigo, Spain, there was a 2day congress on September 1819, 2000 attended by 300 delegates from 135 companies mostly from
Europe. The Spanish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr. Miguel Arias Canete, the General Secretary of Spanish Fisheries, Mr.
Samuel Juarez Casado, and other highranking government officials from Spain attended the conference,

Mr. John Farnell, EU Markets Administrator emphasized the need to increase competitiveness while focusing on quality. He
announced that the customs duties weapon is going to change. The mean duties average rate is of 11% now but ranging from 3% to
24/25%. However, 70% of the imports of fisheries products are already at the zero duty level, among them 68% of the canned tuna
imported in the EU, However, Europe's fisheries are fully exploited, stocks are decreasing and the industry has to rely on the Third
World Fish stocks to get the sourcing. The latter countries' fishing fleets are not so expensive to run as their European counterparts.
He emphasized that there is general world reduction of the customs duties and Europe is seeking for a fair reciprocity with its foreign
partners. He is of the opinion that within the next 5 years, some significant reduction of the duties would take place.

According to Mr. Farnell, there are other weapons, such as: technical barriers, rules, trade names, etc ... The Eco Labeling (i.e. Marine
Stewardship Council, Dolphin Safe . . . ). He is of the opinion that international organizations such as the FAO, International Fisheries
Commission should be involved in this label recognition, To address health issues, the EU published a "White Book" where the
situation is analyzed and the Commission's views explained. All the imported goods in the EU must be elaborated under the same
rules, cares . . . than if they were produced in the EU. There are actually 101 countries recognized, among them 55% fully approved.
The rest are under a "provisionary status". One third of the countries allowed to export before to the EU have since been eliminated.

"Rules of Origin" is very important. Every time there is a duty exemption, the EU supports a reduction of its income duties. When there
is a doubt, investigations are initiated. The Rules of Origin stipulations must be absolutely respected. According to Mr. Farnell, the EU
does not make any distinction between Domestic and Distant Fisheries. Some measures are taken (i.e. Mediterranean Bluefin
Conservation) and sanctions are applied against the countries that trespass them. In conclusion, Mr. Farnell said that Customs Duties
is not going to protect the EU. It is respect for quality, security, and the environment.

Other speakers were Don Ignacio Lacbaga of the "Grupo Albacora" and Don Manuel Calvo. Managers from JEALSA, LAFUENTE (brand
Riomar, not to be confused with Rio Mare), ESCURIS, Antonio Alonso also made contributions about supplies, market situations,
necessity of alliances, the buyer's labels called a "bad thing", but impossible to avoid. The Atun Claro issue was also evocated, only
Yellowfin to be used in this formulation of "light tuna". Nobody mentioned anything about the common or generic canned tuna
Skipjack,

Don Ignacio Lachaga commented that proteins in canned tuna must be indicated in the label although he is not aware that it is
forbidden in the solid pack tuna in Europe. He mentioned that two weeks prior to the meeting, he met with StarKist and the latter
expressed their idea that the proteins should be eliminated in the future.

The Nielsen Institute also made a presentation at the Galician conference showing that the Hyper Markets number increases slowly
but regularly (about 330). The classic trade grocery shops are also diminishing at the same rate. Canned tuna represents 49% of the
volume of total canned fishes. 37% of the canned tuna is sold through promotions. Its market grew 2.4% in 1999 against 7.7% for all
the canned fishes. The penetration in the country is 98% (sardines only accounted for 52% and is No. 2). The purchasers buy 56 cans
per year at the rate of 4.2 together at each purchase. One of the advantages of Spain is that besides the tuna, sardines and
mackerels, the "sea delicacies" are a very important segment: squids, octopus, shells, scallops plus the tuna belly fillets in olive oil.
They bring a substantial activity to the small and larger companies.

In the Eastern Pacific, the threemonth closure of the purse seine fishery on floating objects (FADs) began on September 15 and will
run through December 15, 2000. Purse seiners in the ETP with observers on board may continue fishing by other legal methods but
most stop fishing on FADs. Observers are responsible for monitoring boat's compliance.

According to IATTC reports, the total Yellowfin catch in the ETP as of September 25, 2000 was 207,614 MT, compared to 231,533 MT
for the same period in 1999. The Skipjack catch in the ETP for the same period in 2000 was 190,019 MT, compared to 210,921 MT in
1999. The Bigeye catch in the ETP for the same period in 2000 was estimated at 62,385 MT.

Scientists with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration declared on September 20 that La Nina, the cool water
system that favors growth of many key commercial fish stocks in the Pacific is finally over after two years, They say the La Nina
phenomenon and its climatic opposite, El Nino, are unlikely to influence global weather for the next nine months. According to NOAA
officials, "for the first time in three years, global weather will not be impacted directly by either a strong El Nino or La Nina. This means
a return to more normal weather, but it also means that longterm seasonal outlooks will be more uncertain without the firm influence
of these cycles." El Nino occurs when seasurface temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific are warmer than usual. La Nina occurs when
the water temperatures are cooler than normal. These two events drive cyclical changes in the abundance of fish stocks harvested in
the ETF.

In Ecuador, the American dollar replaced the sucre as Ecuador's national currency on September 11. Officials hope that the
switchover will end record inflation running at 104 percent a year, Latin America's highest. The step is designed to prevent the
government from printing excessive money to meet its budgetary needs. Economists blame Ecuador's economic woes on decades of
deficit spending, So far, signs indicate the plan is working. Monthly inflation has dropped from 14.3 percent in January to 1.4 percent
in August. Last week, the Central Bank began distributing coins freshly minted in Canada and Mexico in amounts equivalent to the U.S.
penny, the nickel, the dime, and the quarter. Ecuador has followed Panama's example in using U.S. bills but minting its own coins.
Ecuador, wracked by political and economic disorder for years, completed the transition to making the U.S. dollar its currency. During
the transition, both dollars and sucres are circulated as legal tender, at an official exchange rate of 25,000 sucres to the dollar.
Ecuador joins 9 other countries or territories using the U.S. dollar as their official currency, according to the International Monetary
Fund.

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For valuable information on the tuna industry, go to www.casamarintl.com. Casamar Ecuador has an e mail system for the Crow's Nest.
Please contact them directly. Click on "ECUADOR" from the home page. Mailing is controlled from the Las Vegas office.

This publication is provided by CASAMAR to its customers for their information only. CASAMAR is not liable for any errors or delays in the
content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Trademarked names are used in an editorial content with no intent in trademark
infringement.

For more information on the Tuna Fishing Industry visit the Casamar Home Page at www.casamarintl.com for the
nearest full-service and sales facility in your part of the world or the latest product designed specifically for the Tuna
Fishing Industry.

Crow's Nest is the first monthly
in-depth report on the status of the
Tuna Industry. For a printed copy of
the publication, please e-mail your
name and address to: Casamar
Group, Inc., and advise them that
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the report.