This archive report was first published on 8 July 2020.
Published on July 8, 2020, a study by the Heritage Institute for Policy and City University of Mogadishu revealed that Somalia's fishing sector generates only $135 million in value per year, which is about two percent of the country's gross domestic product.
The study, titled 'Somalia Fisheries: Untapped Potential Held Back by Skills Shortage,' found that the sector has the potential to be one of the largest and most profitable in the world, considering that the current annual catch represents only a small fraction of the country's estimated fishery production potential of over 800,000 tonnes per year.
However, the sector is dominated by foreign-owned trawlers, and the illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is costing the country more than $300 million each year in lost revenue.
The study's author, Dr. Abdirahman Kulmiye of the City University of Mogadishu, attributed the shortage of skilled workforce as the most serious challenge facing the sector.
Dr. Kulmiye noted that while the fisheries sector is underdeveloped, it supports more than 400,000 Somalis who depend on it for their livelihood.
The study was funded by the Somalia Stability Fund and aimed to assess the status of the fisheries sector, existing skills, and local institutions of higher learning and the quality of their fisheries-related academic programs.
Recently, a fishing deal signed between the Somalia government and vessels tied to the China Overseas Fisheries Association caused uproar among artisanal fishing communities and politicians, who argued that it would destroy their livelihoods.
The deal allowed 31 Chinese long-line vessels to fish for 'tuna and tuna-like species' for one year, but automatically renewed fishing licenses for $1,025,750 each year.
Additionally, a report by the Global Fishing Watch released on June 30 indicated that roughly 200 Iranian fishing boats operating illegally had been detected in waters off Somalia and Yemen, as well as smaller subsets of Indian, Pakistani, and Sri Lankan flagged vessels.
These vessels were traced by the Trygg Mat Tracking technology, which helps boats avoid collisions and identify their locations.
From 1991, when the Somalia state collapsed, it was estimated that between 800 and 1,000 vessels descended on Somali's EEZ engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
Recent studies estimated the foreign catch to be 132,000 tonnes, accounting for 56 percent of total catches in Somalia's EEZ.
The lack of a common legal framework and regulatory regimes, as the Somalia Federal Government and some of the federal states follow different laws and rules in managing the sector, is said to enable illegal trawlers to encroach into Somalia's EEZ.
Local fishermen have accused the trawlers of overfishing, depleting fish stocks, destroying important marine habitats through bottom trawling, and disrupting communities' livelihoods by sweeping away their stationary fishing gear.
