Page 28 - IB MAR 2017

Fisheries
Sports
Tuna price-fixing probe

Veteran faces

time behind bars

BUMBLE Bee Foods veteran Walter Scott
Cameron will likely see a prison term of at
least 10 months, pay a $USD25,000 fine
and agree to testify in tuna price-fixing
investigation, following a plea deal with
prosecutors.
The US Department of
Justice has recommended
Cameron’s sentence will
fall under level 12 of
federal guidelines, which
could mean at least a
10-to-16-month prison
term.
It will also include the
$25,000 fine and a $100 special assess-
ment although he will not be asked to pay
victim’s restitution due to the ongoing civil
lawsuits, the agreement states.
Bumble Bee is the major buyer of tuna Camerona (top left) helped investigators in the tuna price-fixing investigation in the United States in exchange
loins from the Pacific Fishing Corporation for what he hopes will be a lighter sentence. Photo: Paul Hilton/ Greenpeace
based at Levuka, Fiji. operations face closure due to a number However, the sentence will ultimately
PAFCO describes its core business as of issues. be determined by San Francisco judge
“loining of tuna (round fish) for Bumble Despite claims made in civil lawsuits Edward Chen who can choose to impose
Bee. The secondary component of PAF- against the firms, no formal criminal a higher or lower sentence.
COs operations are canning, fishmeal charges against the companies have been Meanwhile, lawsuits filed against
production, and fish oil extraction by a filed to date. Bumble Bee; Thai Union Group-owned
third party.” Cameron, who served as senior vice- Tri-Union Seafoods, and Starkist allege
PAFCO signed a seven-year tuna loin- president of sales at Bumble Bee, “know- that the price-fixing conspiracy was born
ing processing agreement in 2002 with ingly entered into and engaged in a in 2008 and involved years of close coop-
Bumble Bee Foods LLP, following the combination and conspiracy to fix, raise, eration between the companies.
successful operation of the initial loin and maintain the prices of packaged The suits have alleged that the joint
processing agreement with Bumble Bee seafood sold in the United States”, the “Tuna the Wonderfish” advertising
from 1998. The agreement has since been DOJ has said. campaign, co-packing of Thai Union
extended twice, with the current extension The others he reportedly conspired and Bumble Bee; and the companies’
valid until 2017. with haven’t been named in the criminal participation in the International Seafood
The DOJ investigation first came to light proceedings with the exception of fellow Sustainability Foundation also presented
in July 2015 when Thai Union, which had Bumble Bee veteran Kenneth Worsham, chances to collude.
planned to buy Bumble Bee for $USD1.5 who also indicated that he will plead The first multitude of civil suits in 2015
billion, announced that the investigation guilty. didn’t name specific executives at the
prompted it to cancel a share offering it Now the DOJ has revealed that the sen- companies for their alleged involvement
would have used to finance the merger. tence recommendation lower than the 10- in the matter.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has year maximum term was made in part due But several were amended in June alleg-
been engaged in an investigation of the to “defendant’s substantial assistance in ing Chris Lischewski, CEO of Bumble Bee
US packaged seafoods industry with the the government’s investigation and pros- from 1999 to the present day; Don Binotto,
big three canners -Bumble Bee; Thai ecutions of violations of federal criminal Starkist CEO from the 1990s through No-
Union Group-owned Tri-Union Seafoods, law in the packaged-seafood industry”. vember 2010; John Signorino, Chicken of
which trades as Chicken of the Sea; and Cameron agreed to submit to inves- the Sea CEO from January 2005 to October
Starkist, owned by South Korea’s Dong- tigators’ interviews, turn over relevant 2007; and Shue Wing Chan, Signorino’s
won Enterprise - in the spotlight. documents and testify against any co- successor as being reportedly involved.
Starkist operates facilities in Ameri- conspirators in the alleged price-fixing q Invictus News and Features Service
can Samoa and its Pago Pago-based conspiracy, the agreement states.

28 Islands Business, March 2017