{"id":1981,"date":"2018-08-13T13:12:30","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T13:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jplarroque.com\/?p=1981"},"modified":"2018-09-17T03:31:01","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T03:31:01","slug":"inside-somali-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/2018\/08\/13\/inside-somali-fishing\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Somali Fishing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1170\" height=\"658\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qXhAfLHBPJY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div class=\"video-container\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"DdRxbh8qOO\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/2018\/03\/somali-pirates-return-illegal-unregulated-unreported-fishing-continues-gulf-aden\/\">Somali Pirates Return as Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing Continues in the Gulf of Aden<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/2018\/03\/somali-pirates-return-illegal-unregulated-unreported-fishing-continues-gulf-aden\/embed\/#?secret=DdRxbh8qOO\" data-secret=\"DdRxbh8qOO\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"Embedded WordPress Post\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Reposted from New Security Beat<\/p>\n<p>After pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel last year near Bosasso, a major seaport in Puntland, Somalia, local authorities observed that <a href=\"https:\/\/uk.reuters.com\/article\/uk-somalia-piracy\/somali-pirates-hijack-iranian-fishing-vessel-somali-official-idUKKBN18J29A\">the offending boat was casting nets without a license<\/a>. While piracy has diminished since 2008-2012, when these waters became some of the most lawless in the world, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news24.com\/Africa\/News\/after-somali-piracy-is-sailing-the-western-indian-ocean-safe-again-20180301\">spate of incidents<\/a> in 2017-8 has made it clear that the conditions that led to piracy\u2014including incursions from foreign fishing boats\u2014are still a major problem.<span id=\"more-70731\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/2017\/08\/fishing-criminals-mapping-security-threats-illegal-unreported-unregulated-fishing\/\">Illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing<\/a> is a constant challenge for Somalia\u2019s fisheries sector, which employs 70,000 workers and contributes $135 million USD annually to the local economy.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"fitvid0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qXhAfLHBPJY\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>\u201cStarting in the early 1990s, frustration with IUU fishers became a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/2017\/12\/10-interstate-disputes-fishy-implications-stink\/\">justification for attacks on foreign vessels<\/a>, setting the stage for piracy against the entire shipping industry in the Western Indian Ocean,\u201d said Sarah Glaser, lead author of <a href=\"http:\/\/securefisheries.org\/report\/securing-somali-fisheries\"><em>Securing Somali Fisheries<\/em><\/a><em>, a<\/em>comprehensive overview of the industry published by One Earth Future.<\/p>\n<p>Many Somalis will tell you that foreign fishing fleets\u2014most of which are from Iran and Yemen\u2014are the real pirates. Foreign fishing, which extracts three times more fish than Somalis, threatens the local fishing industry and even the lives of the local fishers.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Courtesy of One Earth Future\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF5.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter title=\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF5.jpg\" alt=\"OEF5\" width=\"645\" height=\"430\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of the illegal fishing [vessels] have guns\u2026\u201d said Abdisalam Ali, a project coordinator with Kaalo Netherlands Foundation, a non-profit organization that works in the fishing village of Eyl, Puntland. \u201cI asked some fishers [what country the illegal trawlers come from]. They say, \u2018we don\u2019t go near them. We have to stay far away.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest challenge is foreign ships that come to our sea illegally at night,\u201d said Jama Ahmed Mohamed of Alla Aamin Fishing, located in Berbera, Somaliland. \u201cIf they run you over no one will ever know. They are not registered to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Courtesy of One Earth Future\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF4.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter title=\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF4.jpg\" alt=\"OEF4\" width=\"645\" height=\"363\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the boats that no one can control, like the ones from Yemen, come in, you lose like $15,000,\u201d said Abdiweli Farah, owner of Hodan Fishing, operating in Eyl. \u201cYou put specific nets and hooks on the ground and they come and take them. There is nothing that you can do except cough up a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also at stake is the environmental sustainability of Somali waters, which have the potential to support some of the world\u2019s most productive fisheries. Foreign industrial vessels\u2014ignorant of Somali fisheries law\u2014trawl very close to the Somali coastline, jeopardizing its fragile ecosystem. It is estimated that if current fishing practices continue, 40 percent of Somali fish stocks are unsustainable.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Courtesy of One Earth Future\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF3.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter title=\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF3.jpg\" alt=\"OEF3\" width=\"645\" height=\"430\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In 2014, the Federal Government of Somalia claimed Somalia\u2019s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to protect Somali waters from IUU fishing, in line with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut, despite all our progress in strengthening fisheries management domestically, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.project-syndicate.org\/commentary\/somalia-international-community-combat-illegal-fishing-by-hassan-sheikh-mohamud-2015-10?barrier=accessreg\">we lack the ability to police our vast waters<\/a>,\u201d wrote Hussein Sheikh Mohamud, Somalia\u2019s former president, in a Project Syndicate op-ed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fluid-width-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"fitvid1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5FFaBcW2Pmw\" width=\"300\" height=\"150\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>This was clear when I visited the region in 2017. While out on a rare patrol with the Somaliland Coast Guard, we quickly encountered a Yemeni ship dumping livestock manure into the ocean just out of sight of Berbera harbor\u2014and in broad daylight.<\/p>\n<p>Despite these challenges, Somali fishers persevere. Local demand is growing. The fishing industry exported 4,000 metric tons of fish commodities valued at $3.1 million USD in 2014. Building the sector\u2019s supporting value chains, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/fairfishing.org\/fairfishing-station\/\">processing facilities<\/a> that provide ice to keep fish fresh on the way to market, have created additional jobs for Somalis.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Courtesy of One Earth Future\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF2.jpg\" rel=\"lightbox\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter title=\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/OEF2.jpg\" alt=\"OEF2\" width=\"645\" height=\"430\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>However, the best investment that Somalis can make is to create a strong licensing system for the foreign and domestic fleets that use their waters. Licensing could reinforce governance in its EEZ, but more importantly, it can also boost the economy and prevent over-fishing.<\/p>\n<p>Better fisheries management could ensure the sustainability of the Somali fishing industry, building the country\u2019s economy, protecting its waters, and increasing food security. Combined, these factors can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsecuritybeat.org\/2011\/03\/somali-piracy-shows-how-an-environmental-issue-can-evolve-into-a-security-crisis\/\">contribute to peace and security<\/a> in this fragile region.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-credits\">\n<p><strong><em>Jean-Pierre Larroque<\/em><\/strong><em> is a Project Manager and videographer for <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/oneearthfuture.org\/\"><em>One Earth Future<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Sources: FairFishing, News 24, One Earth Future, Project Syndicate, Reuters, Secure Fisheries<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of One Earth Future and cannot be reused without their permission.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Somali Pirates Return as Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing Continues in the Gulf of Aden Reposted from New Security Beat After pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel last year near Bosasso, a major seaport in Puntland, Somalia, local authorities observed that the offending boat was casting nets without a license. While piracy has diminished since &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1871,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[570],"tags":[191,662,288,691,690,695,448,493,501,693,692,694],"class_list":["post-1981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-somali","tag-berbera","tag-coast-guard","tag-fishing","tag-illegal","tag-new-security-beat","tag-one-earth-future","tag-pirates","tag-shuraako","tag-somaliland","tag-unregulated","tag-unreported","tag-wilson-center","post_format-post-format-video"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1981"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1986,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1981\/revisions\/1986"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jplarroque.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}