ROUGH SEAS THE CAUSES and CONSEQUENCES of FISHERIES CONFLICT IN SOMALI WATERS This page intentionally left blank ROUGH SEAS: THE CAUSES and CONSEQUENCES of FISHERIES CONFLICT IN SOMALI WATERS
Colleen Devlin Sarah M. Glaser Ciera Villegas Natasia Poinsatte
January 2020
http://dx.doi.org/10.18289/OEF.2020.042 Cover Image: Two fishers prepare their boat for a night of fishing at a port in Bossaso, Puntland. Photo: Tobin Jones, United Nations.
Design & layout by Liz Allen, One Earth Future. This page intentionally left blank TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...... iv I. INTRODUCTION...... 01 II. THE SOMALI REGION...... 02 Civil Conflict in the Somali Region...... 02 Fisheries in the Somali Region...... 03 III. RESEARCH APPROACH...... 06 IV. RESULTS...... 08 V. CONCLUSIONS...... 16 ENDNOTES...... 19 vi | Rough Seas: The Causes and Consequences of Fisheries Conflict in Somali Waters
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In the Somali region, as in a growing number of places around the world, the stability of fisheries and the maritime domain more broadly are critically linked to the economic and physical security of the Somali people. As Somali waters are the gateway between the Indian Ocean and the Red and Mediterranean seas, smooth passage facilitates maritime economic commerce on a global scale. Likewise, the nutrient-rich waters around the Horn of Africa support domestic and foreign fishing fleets that harvest tens of thousands of tons of valuable fish every year. However, low capacity for enforcement of maritime laws since the civil war began in 1991 has enabled illegal fishing while undermining domestic maritime domain awareness.
Here, we investigated conflict in Somali waters in order to add to the limited but growing understanding of the factors contributing to or mitigating conflict over fisheries resources. In particular, we assessed the actors in and motivations driving fisheries conflict in the Somali region. To do so, we collected and analyzed reports in the media of fisheries conflict in Somali waters from 1990–2018. We found three distinct periods of conflict with different defining characteristics: conflict between domestic and foreign fishers (1998–2000), conflict driven by piracy in Somali waters (2007–2010), and conflict resulting from the return of foreign fishing fleets (2014–2015).