Somali pirates: Western boats 'loot' Somali fish

Sunday 01st November, 06:29 AM JST

MOGADISHU, Somalia —

Somali pirates who are demanding $7 million in ransom for a British sailing couple said Saturday that boats from other countries are plundering Somalia’s fish-rich waters.

Ahmed Gadaf, who described himself as a spokesman for the pirates, said Western fishing vessels “harass” local fishermen and destroy their nets. Gadaf spoke to The Associated Press by satellite phone.

Gadaf says the British couple, Paul and Rachel Chandler, are safe and will not be harmed.

The British government on Saturday reiterated its refusal to ransom the pair, saying in a statement that officials would not make any “substantive concessions to hostage-takers, and that includes the payment of ransom.”

The Chandlers were headed to Tanzania in their boat, the Lynn Rival, when a distress signal was sent Oct. 23. The British navy found their empty yacht on Thursday, and both have been in sporadic contact with the British media since.

Illegal fishing off the coast of Somalia stirs strong passions in the country. The country’s prime minister, Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, said in a speech Wednesday that many countries are fishing illegally in Somali waters and have pushed formerly profitable Somali fishermen into the pirate trade.

He also said during Wednesday’s appearance at London-based Chatham House think tank that many pirates are former fishermen “responding to the loss and disappearance of their livelihoods.”

Helene Bours, an expert on fisheries in Africa who works as a consultant for non-governmental organizations in Africa and Europe, said she was skeptical that international overfishing in Somalia had a significant effect on the rise of piracy.

“The extent to which the piracy business has developed is way beyond a few fishermen turning (into) pirates,” she said.

Bours most international ships operated far from the Somali coast in order to bring in deep-sea fish, and would not be competing with smaller Somali fishing boats working closer to shore. She cautioned however, that the lack of reliable information from the chaotic country made any assessment unreliable.

Sharmarke said he was aware of extensive foreign fishing off Somalia’s coast.

“I shall not name names, but suffice to say many countries are fishing illegally in Somali waters,” he said. “We estimate that the value of the fish being taken from our waters is perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars.”

Pirate attacks have increased the last several weeks after the recent end of the monsoon season. An international armada is patrolling the region to try to stop the attacks.

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Associated Press Writer Michael Weissenstein in London contributed to this report.

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9 Comments

tclh at 07:27 AM JST - 1st November

Here we go ,pirates have their own kind of justification ! But if so, why they don't just rob fishing ships?
HonestDictator at 08:39 AM JST - 1st November

lmao riiiiiight. They take our fish! Right on tclh, they need to go rob the fishermen!
bushlover at 09:50 AM JST - 1st November

BS excuses for turning to armed kidnapping and ransom demands. I'm sure if Somalia would get it's sh1t together and become a stable country that it could start feeding and protecting itself. And just how far out does Somalia control the sea? Not as far as the pirates are going. So their BS excuse is nothing more than a load of cr@p.
DS at 12:14 PM JST - 1st November

Add these "pirates" to the list of people who need a good killing.

I would like to see more merchant ships in the area be armed, or have armed guards on board. Perhaps the occasional ship sailing with a concealed party of Marines would be enough to make the pirates take notice...

The problem is that the armed patrols can't really do anything. They aren't allowed to shoot up the pirates' boats, arrest them, or bombard their onshore facilities. All they can do is intercept them and 'persuade' them to go away. Pathetic.
SuperLib at 02:00 PM JST - 1st November

I suppose people like this always have to give some kind of excuse. It's not like they're going to come out and say, "We're doing this because I'd really, really, really like to have $7 million."
Kwaabish at 05:00 PM JST - 1st November

uh huhhhh..... Western fishing vessels....

So that's the reason why they must be attacking western tankers and yachts and Asian fishing boats.
sydenham at 08:50 PM JST - 1st November

Wow, real modern-day Robin Hoods.

I admire their elan.
JoeBigs at 08:25 AM JST - 2nd November

Ah poor pirates they are not in it for the easy cash. They are pirates because Western nations are fishing off their country.LOL

What a cork, hunt these morons down and kill everyone of them. Hell, do it the fear factor way. Hunt down the pirates and everyone in their families. After you kill off all their relatives then hunt them some more!
YuriOtani at 02:31 AM JST - 3rd November

Sink them on sight, without warning. It is within "international law" to sink pirates and outlaws. It is a law as old as seafaring and no new "permissions" are required. The cure would be to sink them all, go around in an oversize rubber raft with guns and rockets, expect no mercy. I say again to sink them all wherever these scum wander, protect Japanese ships against all foe, this is just a weak excuse.