Og det er vel at mærke ikke pirateri, der tænkes på, men de enorme uudnyttede ressourcer af fisk i havet ud for landet på Afrikas Horn med kontinentets længste kyststrækning – i dag ruster resterne af den gamle trawlerflåde op.
BERBERA, 14 December 2012 (IRIN): Rusting hulks (skrog) of capsized boats decorate the waters around Berbera, a port city in the self-declared republic of Somaliland. Further down Somalia’s coast, pirates raid freighters in the Gulf of Aden.
Yet efforts are underway to help Somalis make better use of their 3.300 km coastline – the longest on the African continent – by increasing fishing and seafood exports to lucrative markets in the Middle East and Europe.
In 2013, the European Union will spend 6,5 million US dollar to help Somaliland pursue its long-term goal of netting 120.000 tons of seafood each year, the sale of which could generate a stunning 1,2 billion dollar in foreign currency.
“In Somalia, people have lived for a long time with their backs to the sea,” says Isabel Faria de Almedia, the EU development chief for Somalia, adding:
“It is a country of agro-pastoralists with a strong nomadic tradition. We think there is a huge potential for the consumption and export of fish.”
Until the second half of the 20th century, few Somalis outside fishing communities consumed fish and the sector was entirely artisanal in nature (bestod af småfiskere).
This began to change in the 1970s with the development of better cold-storage facilities and the creation, with Soviet help, of an industrial fleet.
But for want of (mangel på) spare parts and maintenance, these vessels quickly fell into disuse.
(See http://www.fao.org/fi/oldsite/FCP/en/SOM/profile.htm for a detailed, if slightly dated, overview of the Somali fishing industry.)
Luring pirates away from piracy
Læs videre på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/97049/SOMALIA-Potential-goldmine-for-fishermen-as-piracy-declines
