Foreign companies loot $350m from Somalia

[Jacaylbaro]

Foreign companies loot and dump toxic wastes in Somali seas in the full glare of the EU and NATO naval forces that patrol the Somali coastal lines, a Somali professor at the University of Minnesota has said.

 

Abdi Ismail Samater, a professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota claims foreign companies poach and dump toxic waste in Somali waters.

 

He said foreign interests seized the opportunity to begin looting the country’s seafood after the collapse of the Somali government in 1991.

 

“Between 700 up to 800 illegal fishing ships directly steal Somali seafood. They took any kind of fish including nest eggs in the deep waters”, he told AfricaNews in an exclusive interview.

 

He added that foreign ships use prohibited fishing equipment, including nets with very small mesh sizes and sophisticated underwater lighting systems, to lure fish to their traps.

 

Somalia waters have huge numbers of commercial fish species, including

the prized yellow fin tuna.

 

The illegal fishing ships come from Italy, Egypt, India, South Korea, Kenya, Tanzania, and Spain, according to a research that is yet to be published by Prof. Abdi Ismail Samater and his colleagues at University of Minnesota.

 

The research also indicates that illegal fishing companies from Japan, China, Denmark and Holland are also part of the lootings process in Somalia.

 

“The illegal fishing companies poach an estimated between $250 up to$350 million in seafood from Somali waters annually”, Prof. Samater said.

The foreign companies steal an invaluable protein source from one of the world’s poorest nations, where half of its population needs food aids.

 

One in six Somali children is acutely malnourished – a total of some 240,000 children – the highest acute malnutrition rates anywhere in the world. In south and central Somalia these rates are even higher, reaching one in every five children, According to WFP.

 

The UN estimates it will need $689 million to provide aid in 2010 to the Somali population, of which 43 per cent live on less than a dollar a day.

 

Professor Abdi accused foreign companies for ruin the livelihoods of legitimate fishermen. He claimed NATO and EU force in Somali waters don not stop or even speak out illegal fishing in the coast.

 

“NATO and EU forces are aware of the ongoing poaching in Somali sea but they are focusing on pursuing only their economic and security interest”, he said.

 

But Lieutenant Colonel Per Klingvall, spokesperson for EU NAVFOR said his force is contributing in monitoring fishing activity off the coast of Somalia.

 

“We are mandated to monitor and report illegal activities off the coast of Somalia. We have no information about illegal fishing in Somalia”, Per Klingvall said.

 

“European fishing vessels pass their location to us daily, they have not been in Somali waters since they started passing EU NAV FOR their details. As far as we can monitor the European fishing fleets are outside the, by Somali, declared 200 NM Economic exclusive zone.”

 

Prof Abdi Ismail Samater said foreign warships came to the Gulf of Aden to protect only their interests and the increasing insurance costs.

 

But the spokesperson for EU NAVFOR said that their main objective is to escort World Food Programme (WFP) ships so they can deliver humanitarian aid to the Somali people.

 

“Since we started Dec 2008 we have escorted more than 80 ships who have delivered more than 410 000 metric tons. That feeds 1 300 000 people every day”, he told AfricaNews.

 

‘Other missions are to escort AMISOM logistic ships and other vulnerable ships. We are also mandated to disrupt and deter acts of piracy and armed robbery off the Somali coast”.

 

Somali pirates are causing havoc in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping routes connecting Europe to Asia and the Middle East.

 

“There are stories that piracy probably started as a reaction to foreign illegal fishing over 10 years ago.

 

However, the pirates are no longer motivated by good causes - all of the recent attacks off the East coast of Somalia have been hundreds of miles from Somali waters and have been for financial gain only”, said Per Klingvall.

 

In sharp contrast to the EU Naval force for Somalia, Professor Samatar says a number of pirate are out to make money, some are patriots who are out to defend the waters against looting.

 

“All power full states are just pushing only their interests. Somali pirates took only $35 million each year while foreign companies loot $350 m seafood annually.

 

No-one is addressing looting but World bodies are busy discussing pirates”, he said.

 

Prof Samater says western nations are only focused to fight pirates since it is a threat to their economy.

 

“No one is listening to a weak person who is crying and saying “please don’t take my fish”. No nation is serious for Somali issue. They are all busy for their interests”.

 

Warships from the United States, Britain, Japan, France and other countries have been trying to stop Somali pirates, but have been unable to uproot the problem of piracy.

 

The international community has been focused on training Somali ground forces--military and police--to defend Somali government from Islamist rebels but EUNAVFOR spokesperson said they have no mandate to train Somali Naval Force.

[Peace Action]

No-one is addressing looting but World bodies are busy discussing pirates”, he said.

 

Prof Samater says western nations are only focused to fight pirates since it is a threat to their economy.

 

Where is Ayoub? Can we have a campaign against the illegal fishing and toxic waste dump on the Somali sea or are you just limited to anti piracy of the coast of Somalia.

[Amistad]

It should be one in the same.

[Mad_Mullah]

Isn't JB the one that makes fun of Puntland and calls it Pirateland? Most of these pirates are better for us for they atleast try to protect the country (while the rest are just criminals looking for money).

[Peace Action]

Originally posted by Amistad:

It should be one in the same.

Amistad care to explain it?

[Jacaylbaro]

Originally posted by Mad_Mullah:

Isn't JB the one that makes fun of Puntland and calls it Pirateland?

No, I call them Bugland ,,,

[Showqi]

Berigaad yarayd Bugle ma ciyaartay?

[Amistad]

Originally posted by Peace Action:

quote:Originally posted by Amistad:

It should be one in the same.

Amistad care to explain it?

Sure. I have always promoted a land based approach to curbing the piracy phenomenon and the Intl Community touting its horn of how the warship flotilla is working in "curbing" piracy pisses me off to no end. Their numbers do not jibe and are not accurate.

 

In my opinion it is having a reverse effect of protecting poachers and euro mafias dumping toxic waste.

 

Instead of spending all that money on the flotilla (in the millions per month) pool that money through the CGPCS (International Contact Group Piracy Coast Somalia) and invest it back into Somalia by creating an effective coast guard who can police themselves, poachers and dumpers and invest it in a fishing wildlife management program, Somalia's coastline best chance to create a small micro economy.

 

Draw up an effective amnesty plan for the current pirates, invest the money in boats, radio communications, vehicles for the existing Somalia Navy and hire the pirates and give them jobs.

 

Establish a judiciary proceedings tribunal and anyone caught pirating after the amnesty agreement, goes to a vocational rehab jail and performs paid labor for the State (they receive a chuck of money when released).

 

With this and the communities help you have killed a few birds with one stone. You have created an environment that is non conducive to piracy, have provided jobs, a legal fishing industry and promoted a small legal system that could extend outwards towards other legal matters.

 

Any poachers or dumpers boats are seized, crews released, illegal catches confiscated and distributed to the public, fines levied on the ships owners and put back into a Somali State self standing system.

 

I actually wrote a very nice program complete with outlines and numbers for this and presented it to the US DoS and was shot down in flames. They have no current policy to promote stabilization in Somalia or anti-piracy programs. CGPCS does not seem interested in speaking with us either. This is a great program.... I just wish somebody would listen up.

[Peace Action]

Amistad this is an excellent approach to solve the piracy and illegal fishing / toxic waste dump and the most cost effective. Why it is not adopted by the powers that be is beyond comprehension.

[Amistad]

We are way to far ahead of the learning curve for them, and they cant wrap their heads around it.

 

Diplomatically speaking the Amnesty part is a problem for them, and their current policies are way off base. We hope to see that change through US DoS Carsons new efforts.

 

There are some individual players out there trying to help, but their efforts are so far dis-connected. I would like to see them all coordinate, that way at least they could gauge some progress.

 

Spain is donating huge funds to promote an artisanal fishing/cannery industry but it needs a security component to back it up. They also have a huge special interest as one of the leading poachers of Somalia's fish.

 

There is also a small coalition on donor nations trying to help Puntland start a coast guard, but this needs to be connected to the above efforts and seems to be lacking funds. There is a small problem also of donating or funding military type of vessels to Somalia.

 

And lastly USAID wants to build roads and make efforts, there is money there but we are yet to see any solid progress.

 

And there is a Somalia Navy which is not being implemented to my knowledge as of yet due to lack of funds to the above efforts. So you do have a few components to get this going, but it needs some serious coordination.

 

Since most of these countries do not allow foreign troops boots on the ground to accomplish this our idea was to use a contracted company managed by Maritime experts, using educated local & Somalia diaspora experts to coordinate this whole effort.

[Muriidi]

One in six Somali children is acutely malnourished – a total of some 240,000 children – the highest acute malnutrition rates anywhere in the world. In south and central Somalia these rates are even higher, reaching one in every five children, According to WFP.

 

The UN estimates it will need $689 million to provide aid in 2010 to the Somali population, of which 43 per cent live on less than a dollar a day.

related issue on the desolate worldwide situation

 

Sweatshops

 

Nicholas Kristof defends sweatshops:

 

Where Sweatshops Are a Dream, by Nicholas Kristof, Commentary, NY Times: Before Barack Obama and his team act on their talk about “labor standards,” I’d like to offer them a tour of the vast garbage dump here in Phnom Penh. This is a Dante-like vision of hell. It’s a mountain of festering refuse, a half-hour hike across, emitting clouds of smoke from subterranean fires.

 

The miasma of toxic stink leaves you gasping... Then the smoke parts and you come across a child ambling barefoot, searching for old plastic cups that recyclers will buy for five cents a pound. Many families actually live in shacks on this smoking garbage.

 

Mr. Obama and the Democrats who favor labor standards in trade agreements mean well... But while it shocks Americans to hear it, the central challenge in the poorest countries is not that sweatshops exploit too many people, but that they don’t exploit enough.

 

Talk to these families in the dump, and a job in a sweatshop is a cherished dream, an escalator out of poverty, the kind of gauzy if probably unrealistic ambition that parents everywhere often have for their children. ...

 

Vath Sam Oeun, hopes her 10-year-old boy, scavenging beside her, grows up to get a factory job, partly because she has seen other children run over by garbage trucks. Her boy has never been to a doctor or a dentist, and last bathed when he was 2, so a sweatshop job by comparison would be far more pleasant and less dangerous. ...

 

At a time of tremendous economic distress and protectionist pressures, there’s a special danger that tighter labor standards will be used as an excuse to curb trade. ...

 

My views on sweatshops are shaped by years living in East Asia, watching as living standards soared ... because of sweatshop jobs. ... The best way to help people in the poorest countries isn’t to campaign against sweatshops but to promote manufacturing there. ...

 

Look, I know that Americans have a hard time accepting that sweatshops can help people. But take it from 13-year-old Neuo Chanthou, who earns a bit less than $1 a day scavenging in the dump. She’s wearing a “Playboy” shirt and hat that she found amid the filth, and she worries about her sister, who lost part of her hand when a garbage truck ran over her.

 

“It’s dirty, hot and smelly here,” she said wistfully. “A factory is better.”

 

Ezra Klein:

 

Nick Kristof's ... point is an uncomfortable one: These children dream of working in sweatshops. Their parents see sweatshops as a glittering ambition, an escape from poverty. ... It's a troubling point: ... Keeping [labor standards] high means fewer children offend our conscience by working in sweatshops and more children spend their days in the stench of the landfills. Lowering them means the American working class loses jobs and the Burmese poor gain them.

[Peace Action]

Still waiting for Ayoub, AWOL.