The Fiji Times reported on January 17 1973 that Korean fishing boats which were supplying fish to the Japanese freezing factory at Levuka suddenly switched to fishing for American canneries in Pagopago.
The article said all the Korean vessels based at Levuka had left the port and their disappearance worried those whose jobs depended on the freezing factory.
The article said it understood that Korean fishing boats, formerly based at Levuka, were fishing under contract to canneries the American Van Camp and Starkist food corporations operated in Pagopago.
Korean tuna boats usually carry about 20 men each; 300 men would crew 15 boats. In December 1972, PAFCO told the Fiji Ports Commission of Inquiry that it had 57 Korean, Japanese and Taiwan boats under charter and this total would rise to 68 in 1973.
Fishermen landed more than 10,000 tons of fish at Levuka in 1972.
Read more:
https://www.fijitimes.com/back-in-history-sudden-departure-workers-worried-after-unexpected-disappearance-of-vessels/