Somali President, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, has reiterated that foreign vessels have been illegally fishing in the Somali Sea for the past thirty years, a day after he signed the Somali Fisheries Development and Management Law.
President Mohamud stated at an event in Mogadishu on Tuesday night that people hear on the radio and social media that the sea has been depleted daily. “Tonight, as we speak, there are over a thousand ships in our sea, taking our fish and giving us nothing. The government is required to issue fishing licenses and agreements to ships fishing in the Somali ocean,” he explained.
President Hassan Sheikh added that the government does not have the funds to protect the sea, so it must enter into a long-term agreement with the companies to allow them to fish in the sea legally.
“First and foremost, money is required to protect our ocean. We have to get that money from the sea; for example, we can give the company ten-year fishing licenses in our ocean and ask them to give us what we want.”
Despite opposition from the Puntland administration, the president signed eight bills into law on Monday, including the Somali Fisheries Development and Management Law.
Earlier this month, Somalia’s Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy demanded that all foreign fishing vessels illegally operating in Somali waters leave the Somali Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) immediately and comply with Somali law and the conservation management measures of international law.
According to evidence gathered by the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, several fishing vessels from foreign countries have been caught illegally fishing in Somali waters. The vessels have reportedly been operating in the Somali Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) since January 2023, posing a significant threat to the country’s sustainable fishing regulations, fish stocks, and overall marine ecology.
The Ministry has confirmed that the fishing vessels in question operate without access agreements or fishing licenses from the Federal government. Somali fisheries law and the country’s constitution state that only the Federal government’s Minister of Fisheries and Blue Economy can issue foreign fishing permits.