New evidence has apparently come to the surface, which fingers foreign fishing fleets of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in Somalia’s waters.
The report, entitled ‘Securing Somali Fisheries’, claims that foreign vessels entering the region are currently taking 132,000 metric tons of fish per year, compared to 40,000t at the hands of local fishers. This, in turn, has reduced local fish stocks and is undermining economic development in the country.
Resentment of the accused IUU perpetrators is said to be rife among Somalia’s coastal communities, which has triggered concerns over renewed maritime insecurity in the region.
According to the study – produced by Secure Fisheries, a program of the One Earth Foundation – the Somali government currently lacks the infrastructure to monitor, police, and protect its maritime domain, and foreign fishing vessels are taking full advantage.
It advocates better information sharing, the deployment of satellite tracking devices and the advancement of the national fisheries infrastructure as the essential tools to tackling IUU in Somalia.
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