Somalia cracks down on illegal deep-sea fishing

Somalia has banned fishing trawlers from catching in its territorial seas, part of a new effort to stop over-exploitation of the fishes in the Indian Ocean. The Ministry of Fisheries & Blue Economy in a circular dated 6 April said vessels would no longer be permitted to pull trawlers, a deep-sea indiscriminate fishing instrument that some critics say nets even the unwanted species and hence deplete the maritime wildlife. ‘The Ministry notifies all fishing companies and vessels in Somali waters a crucial regulation outlined in the Somali Federal Fishery law, specifically in article 31… trawling activities within the Somali Federal territorial waters are strictly prohibited,’ the circular says. ‘Any violations of this regulation may result in fines, imprisonment, confiscation of fish products acquired, and confiscation of equipment for trawling.’ The notification comes after Somalia, in March, released 33 Iranian fishermen and sailors imprisoned in the country for practising illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing within Somali waters. Last year, Somalia’s Office of the Attorney-General charged 36 foreign nationals for illegal fishing activities, indicating tougher approach to protection of Somalia’s marine resources. With the longest coastline in mainland Africa, Somalia’s fishes have often been caught illegally, owing to collapsed institutions after the civil war in 1991, and the fact that Somalia lacked critical laws to try suspects.