Tsunamis Hit American Samoa's Economic Engine

The tsunami that killed nearly 200 people in the Samoas also dealt a vicious blow to the already sputtering engine of the American Samoa economy: tuna canneries.

Motu Selevae, left, and Fotu Matoka, right, both employees of COS Samoa Packing discuss the closing...

Motu Selevae, left, and Fotu Matoka, right, both employees of COS Samoa Packing discuss the closing of the plant Sunday Oct. 4, 2009. The Pago Pago plant closed Sept. 30, 2009. Both Selevae and Matoka are dismantling the cannery's machinery which will be shipped to the state of Georgia in America. Chicken of the Sea International owns the cannery closed the plant in order to remain viable and competitive in the global market. (AP Photo/Eugene Tanner)

(AP)

The U.S. territory has long been home to Chicken of the Sea and Starkist plants that make more than half the canned tuna consumed in the U.S., filling American grocery store shelves with millions of cylindrical cans used for tuna sandwiches and salads.

Even before 10-foot high tsunamis roared ashore Sept. 29, the territory had been bracing for the closure of the Chicken of the Sea facility, which meant nearly 2,000 people would lose their jobs. Thanks to the tsunamis, the end effectively came a day earlier than scheduled.

The cannery run by StarKist Co. lost power in the tsunami and isn't expected to return to full production for another month or so.

The canneries directly and indirectly make up about 80 percent of all economic activity in American Samoa, a remote Pacific island territory of 65,000 people about a five-hour plane ride from Hawaii.

"It's like we've been hit by an earthquake, a tsunami, and a cyclone all at once," said Gov. Togiola Tulafono, who added that the shutdowns will ripple through the economy as newly unemployed and idle workers won't have as much money to spend.

"When the cannery shuts down, a whole lot of other things shut down. We need to get that company back up and working," Tulafono said.

The industry was in trouble even before the disaster because of a 2007 federal law mandating that the same minimum wage laws that apply to the 50 states be enforced in the territory. The law is gradually hiking the minimum wage for American Samoa 50 cents a year until it reaches $7.25 — the same standard as the rest of the country.

The law has boosted labor costs for the canneries by more than 30 percent, even as they compete with canneries in countries like Thailand and Vietnam where the hourly wage is less than $1.