A former chief executive of StarKist Inc., has been appointed the first CEO of Samoa Tuna Processors Inc., the local cannery operations of Washington state based Tri Marine International. Binotto was CEO at Star-Kist when it was owned by Del Monte Foods, Heinz and current owners Dongwon Industries.

Donald Binotto was also appointed CEO of the Tri Marine’s subsidiary The Tuna Store, which sells Tri Marine’s canned tuna brand Ocean Naturals, ranked last week by Greenpeace as among the top products in the U.S.

Responding to Samoa News inquiries, Tri Marine media relations officer Heidi Happonen said Binotto will be home based at the company’s headquarters in Bellevue, Washington state, “but will make frequent trips to American Samoa.”

“Tentatively, Mr. Binotto is currently planning a trip for May” to Pago Pago, according to Happonen, adding that everyone at Samoa Tuna Processors is aware of Binotto’s role.

In a national media statement early yesterday morning Tri Marine announced Binotto’s appointment as CEO of both Samoa Tuna Processors and The Tuna Store. It also says that Binotto brings more than 30 years of experience in both senior management and consumer marketing to the companies.

Binotto had previously held leadership positions with the world’s top producers and distributors of shelf-stable and frozen seafood products, the statement says, and this includes over 20 years at StarKist where he was CEO collectively for about 13 years under the ownership of Heinz, Del Monte and Dongwon industries.

Tri Marine CEO, Renato Curto describes Binotto as “one of the foremost global leaders in the tuna industry, saying that Binotto’s many years of experience and his proven enthusiasm and passion for the industry, along with his renewed commitment to quality and sustainability will be tremendous assets to the Tri Marine group.

As CEO of The Tuna Store and Samoa Tuna Processors, “Don will run a vertically integrated business that guarantees, among other things, full traceability of our U.S. origin tuna to our customers,” Curto said.

Officially dedicated in January this year, Samoa Tuna Processors is Tri Marine’s local state-of-the art processing facility that produces shelf-stable and frozen products that are marketed and sold to the U.S. through The Tuna Store.

Because of the vertical integration of Tri Marine’s U.S. flagged vessels, Samoa Tuna Processors and The Tuna Store, the company is able to market and sell "Product of the USA"-labeled tuna to its customers, said Tri Marine.

That vertical integration also uniquely positions the company to provide its customers of private label and branded tuna with traceability that adheres to the highest standards in quality and sustainability, it says.

Binotto said the innovation taking place at The Tuna Store and Samoa Tuna Processors “has the opportunity to be a real game-changer in the industry, and I am excited to take part in shaping its future.”

"Tri Marine’s commitment to quality, sustainability, and the communities where it does business provides a great foundation for growth and success,” said Binotto, a longtime supporter of improved sustainability in the industry who also assisted in co-founding the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), of which Tri Marine is a founding member.

Samoa News reported in November 2010 that Binotto, who last visited the territory in May of that year, was ousted by StarKist Inc. as the company’s CEO and president. StarKist didn’t explain the reason for the change at the top management post.

It was in May of 2010 that StarKist, which was acquired in 2008 by South Korean based Dongwon Industries from Del Monte, announced the elimination of an additional 600-800 jobs at the StarKist Samoa cannery amid continued global competition, that the company said was eroding American Samoa’s economic viability.