On March 13, desperate Somali fishermen hijacked the tanker Aris-13 off the coast of Puntland, in the northeast part of the country. This was the first such incident in almost five years – raising concerns over a return to piracy in the Horn of Africa. Since then, two similar incidents have occurred – on March 23 and April 1. After a period of relative security on the seas in this region, where a global trade chokepoint exists, the hijackings beg the question – why are Somalis returning to these methods?
The decline in piracy in the Horn of Africa is largely credited to NATO and other international forces, which mobilized in 2008 to combat the hostage-taking of ships in the region. The recent hijackings have occurred not too long after the conclusion of NATO’s anti-piracy mission, known as Operation Ocean Shield, last December.
One of the unintended consequences of anti-piracy missions, however, is that foreign fishing fleets have flooded back into Somali waters, as they are less concerned about pirates. At the height of hostage-taking in 2011, fear of piracy served as an effective deterrent to foreign fishermen, unwilling to risk their vessels or their safety to operate in the area. In recent years, with the threat of piracy having subsided, foreign trawlers, some with Somali government permits and others operating illegally, have looked to take advantage of Somalia’s abundant and untapped fisheries. The international missions, while charged with safeguarding against piracy, are not authorized to combat illegal fishing.
Foreign fishing trawlers are often aggressive against local fishermen, turning to tactics like ramming vessels and sabotaging equipment. Not only does their hostile encroachment threaten the fishermen’s safety but also their livelihoods. Foreign illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing extracts three times more catch than Somalis. In fact, foreign fishing is valued at $306 million compared to the $58 million netted by Somali fishermen. Coupled with a lack of governance and little fisheries management, foreign encroachment results in rampant overfishing, placing unsustainable stress on fisheries, an increasingly vital source of protein in the famine-racked region. Facing depleted stocks, many Somalis have stopped fishing, which is no longer a viable source of income.
Somali authorities, weakened by nearly three decades of civil war, are unable to counter these illegal incursions. Exacerbated by the fact that Somalia only declared its Exclusive Economic Zone in 2014, the country has yet to build the infrastructure needed to protect such a large swath of ocean. While Somalia’s several transitional governments have tried to improve maritime enforcement, with significant foreign funding, few have met success. The lack of enforcement capacity is especially relevant in the semi-autonomous state of Puntland, which has struggled to maintain its maritime police force, and has called on the international community to help combat illegal fishing.
Thus, international maritime security strategies in the Horn of Africa must address not just piracy but also its root causes, one of which is illegal fishing. This requires an increase in monitoring and prosecuting foreign fishing trawlers operating illegally. These measures can be achieved by governments and enforcement officials using data leveraged from the range of available technologies and policies, including vessel tracking systems, as well as the implementation of the United Nation’s Port State Measures Agreement, which requires the implementation of robust port state measures to combat illegal fishing.
Some of the trawlers engaged in illegal fishing fly flags boldly showing their countries of origin. Many however, operate under flags of convenience, a practice by which owners register their vessels to a country with slack regulations and low enforcement to avoid prosecution. This practice, which provides states with revenue, is pervasive around the world, and has the effect of making it difficult to hold vessels accountable to industry regulations. Governments and consumers around the world must get tough and intercede by demanding greater transparency, government-sponsored traceability programs, and by stepping up enforcement.
Regardless of where the foreign fishing trawlers in Somalia are flagged, the international community also needs to address ports that lack security and consequentially lend themselves to fishermen seeking to land their illegal catches more easily. To alleviate the situation in Somalia and elsewhere, it is important to identify where foreign fishing trawlers are landing their catch so that countries can focus their foreign assistance on implementing the Port State Measures Agreement and boosting security at those ports. Not only does heightening port security help stave off illegal fishing by cutting off the entry point to legal supply chains, but it helps root out a range of other related illicit industries that rely on poor port security, including arms, drugs, and human trafficking. A key tool to achieving this is vessel-tracking systems – onboard technologies that use satellites to report the location of vessels to fisheries management organizations – which are increasingly accessible and inexpensive. Plus, with vessel tracking data, port security communities will be armed with the information to know which ports need the most security assistance.
The trend of illegal foreign fishing is not limited to Somalia or even the Horn of Africa. Globally, illegal fishing is estimated to rob legitimate fishermen of tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. Illegal fishing also contributes to the overfishing around the world, which undermines the long-term sustainability of fisheries and threatens the 258 million people who depend on fisheries for their livelihoods. As part of establishing security around the Horn of Africa, the international community must realize that the illegal fishing industry is undermining global security.
The Horn of Africa, through which more than one-fifth of all global trade passes, will remain high on the U.S. security agenda. The recent uptick in piracy there underscores how conflicts are intertwined in economic, environmental, and food security, all of which demands innovative and multi-dimensional responses. In Washington, this requires greater collaboration between the U.S. Departments of Defense and State as they work with international counterparts to share information, mobilize assistance, and conduct joint operations to secure ports.
Over the coming months, The Cipher Brief, in conjunction with the Stimson Center, will be publishing a Natural Security Series featuring articles on the convergence between environmental and national security issues. Be sure to check in next month for the next part of the Natural Security Series.
