MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali government has vowed to fight illegal fishing in its waters, warning foreign vessels fishing in the country’s waters will be confiscated.
Foreign fishing ships, trawlers and speed boats had been carrying out fishing in waters of the horn nation for years.
The country’s coastal guards had not been operating since the collapse of the central government led by the then late Mohamed Siyad Barre in the 1990s.
In a statement, Somalia’s Attorney General Suleiman Mohamed Mohamud on Tuesday warned that the Horn of Africa country will no longer tolerate foreign vessels that come to its sea to illegally fish.
Mohamud accused unnamed foreign nations and private companies of exploiting the resources of the Horn of the African nation.
He said his government will launch new measures to combat illegal fishing in its seas which leaves small fisher communities with poor yields
“Illegal fishing in Somalia is a national disaster and one of the biggest catastrophes to Somalia’s resources,” he said, noting that Somalia’s marine resources remain untapped
A report by the campaign group Secure Fisheries in 2017 said up to 2.4 million tonnes of fish have been caught in Somali waters illegally in the last 60 years.
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