News

Somalia piracy hits tuna fishing in Indian Ocean

January 23, 2009 Edition 1

Victoria (Seychelles)

Tuna catches in the southwestern Indian Ocean fell by as much as 30% last year as pirates blocked access to some of the world's richest fishing waters off Somalia.

European fleets say the Somali pirates, who are better known for their audacious hijackings of commercial vessels including the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star, threaten an industry worth up to $6 billion (R60 billion) across the Indian Ocean region.

France and Spain, which both base fleets in the Seychelles, would expect to haul in nearly two thirds of the year's catch off Somalia between August and November, says Alejandro Anganuzzi, head of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.

"Instead they had to look further east and probably caught 50% of what they would usually catch," he said.

About 50 trawlers use the port of the capital, Victoria, through which up to 350 000 tons of tuna are handled every year. But catches have suffered for two consecutive years.

Fisheries experts say foreign currency earnings will have fallen as a result of the dwindling tuna catch, hurting hopes for an economic recovery in the debt-laden archipelago.

In the Seychelles, tuna and related industries - re-export of fuel to vessels, port services, electricity and water for vessels - account for up to 40% of foreign earnings.

Somalia has said piracy is merely a symptom of rampant illegal fishing in its waters by vessels from Europe and Asia after the central government collapsed in 1991.

The Kenya-based Maritime Seafarers' Assistance Programme said in 2006 there were hundreds of illegal fishing boats in Somali waters at any one time, mainly chasing tuna.

Some pirates have said they turned to hijacking only to stop foreign fishing vessels destroying their own small boats and equipment. But the ransoms earned simply increased their appetite for hunting other ships.

From August to November, the waters beyond Somalia's Exclusive Economic Zone hold some of the planet's richest stocks of yellowfin tuna. Pirates attacked tuna boats at least three times last year, leading to one ransom of above $1 million (R10 million).

"The pirates' impact on the fishing off Somalia has been huge," said one European skipper. "At least half our business is there. Now we cannot go there any more. The last season was wrecked."

The audacious attack on the Sirius Star, 450 nautical miles out to sea, alerted the world to the pirates' extended range of activity. - Reuters