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Piracy off the Somali coast has been headline news, but the media have neglected to say why the pirates do what they do. According to Somali accounts, the pirates have been hitting back at an international community that has allowed illegal fishing by international vessels in Somali waters, which has resulted in the near death of the local fishing industry. M assip Far id Ikken reports.
THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE European Union-led Operation Atalanta off the Somali coast against pirates is to protect international vessels using those sea lanes against attacks by Somali pirates. There are 10 countries involved. The corvettes are allowed to respond with fire in case of an attack.
On the other side, the Somali prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Sharmarke, has been begging for help to control the illegal fishing by international crews in Somali waters, an action which, according to the prime minister, is the original reason for the piracy off the country's coast.
"I hope that the military vessels [involved in Operation Atalanta] will also combat the international vessels that are fishing illegally in our waters," Prime Minister Sharmarke said in May. "Illegal fishing has dramatically affected the lives of local fishermen as it has reduced their capacity to earn a living by fishing. As a result, they now try to survive by illegal means such as piracy, and attack the ships they consider as the reason for their poverty. At least 220 international boats have been fishing illegally in Somali waters," the prime minister revealed.
Sharmarke is not the only one who blames the heightened incidents of piracy off the Somali coast on illegal fishing by international crews. The well-known Somali...