On Tuesday 17 April 1900, one Mrs Hudson hauled up the United States flag on Saugelau Hill overlooking Pago Pago harbour in Tutuila Islands, and its 5700 inhabitants became American Sāmoan. The 1700 people on Manu’a were not so keen, waiting four years before signing on.
While the US interest in the territory was entirely naval, American Sāmoa has struggled economically and for relevancy. Its population is in free fall. Another feminine name, Evelina Da Rosa, might mark the practical end of the territory, which would have implications for neighbours Sāmoa and Tonga.
Evelina Da Rosa is a 33-year-old tuna purse seiner that used to fly the American flag off its stern as it fished for the two, then one (StarKist with 1200 workers), tuna canneries in Pago Pago.
But after an extensive refit in Aotearoa New Zealand, Evelina Da Rosa has left American Sāmoa and now flies a Taiwan banner on moorings in Kaohsiung. Today only 11 US flagged purse seiners are registered with the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). China has 79. Of the 3124 WCPFC registered fishing vessels, 19 percent are Chinese. More of the numbers further on, but first what it means for American Sāmoa.
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