But illegal fishing by foreign fleets have plundered the country’s wealth since the collapse of the central government in the early 1990s. Somalia introduced a new licensing system for foreign fishing vessels in 2018 to spur legal fishing and reduce IUU within its EEZ. Minister Bidhan said more FMCs will be opened in FMS to further enhance monitoring of fishing vessels and combat IUU. However, vessels fishing illegally tend to disable tracking equipment on board, making it a challenge to monitor them. “The report disregards and undermines Somalia’s efforts to combat illegal fishing.

Source: The Star July 19, 2021 14:03 UTC