Page 13 - Somalia Report

• Undertaking research necessary for decision making
• Establishing regulations and policies regarding fisheries development
• Promoting food security through fisheries

Improving f?sheries management: IUU, pollution and information provision

The National Development Plan target is to reduce IUU fishing by 30 per cent from the 2016 baseline (FGS, Country Profile
2017). IUU trawlers have been and still are operating close to the coast, on the narrow Somali continental The Republic of Somalia
shelf, most probably damaging the ecosystem and directly competing with artisanal fishermen. The exact
impacts that these vessels, their catch composition and quantities, are unknown. The establishment of
a revenue sharing Federal Fisheries Authority (FFA), under the MFMR, is an important pre-requisite to
addressing the IUU issue, together with the establishment of an operational Fisheries Monitoring Centre
and development of sea patrol enforcement capacity for both inshore and offshore facilities to monitor
fleets operating in the EEZ and enforce national and regional, such as IOTC, requirements. Vehicles and IT
equipment are required for the collection and collation of fish landings and effort data, and the completion
of the ongoing registration of all fishermen and fishing vessels, coupled with appropriate training of Federal
and regional ministry staff. To assist with this work by the Ministry, and the needs for vocational/technical
training within the fisheries sector, a national fisheries training college requires refurbishment and staffing,
with funds for vocational and academic training in fisheries science, food hygiene, fisheries management
and MCS (Monitoring, Control and Surveillance), and policy and planning

The Fisheries Law in Article 35 is very elaborate on water pollution. It forbids the deliberate dumping of wastes
into fishing waters as these may affect the marine biodiversity, birds, environment and human wellbeing.

Article 5 of the Fisheries law also provides for sustainable fisheries management highlighting production
and controlling the exploitation of marine resources by other states. Article 7 mandates the Ministry
to prepare management plan and regulations for sustainable fisheries management.

Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and other partnerships
The need to ensure better management of the highly migratory species within the Somalia waters, drove the
country to join the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission in 2014. In 2018 the Interim Agreement on Revenue
Sharing from licenses was signed. The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources has started issuing offshore
fishing licenses for the exclusive exploitation of tuna and tuna-like species beyond 24 nautical miles from
Somalia’s coast (outside of the zone reserved for Somali fishermen). Revenues generated are reinvested to
develop the domestic fishing sectors. The Ministry has since benefited from training in data collection and
reporting and has also been working to develop a comprehensive catch monitoring system. For instance,
Project Kalluun, a partnership with FAO, Secure Fisheries, City University and the Ministry of Fisheries is piloting
fisheries data collection and community participation (Sheikheile, Glaser, Hassan, Farah, & Weheliye, 2018).

Gender equality

The National Development Plan 2020-2024 has a number of social development objectives designed
to deal with the gender issues highlighted. Other policies and plans that address women and girls
include the Somali Women’s Charter, the National Gender Policy and the Social Protection Policy
among others. Within the fisheries sector there are activities that are designed to include women
alongside men such as in small boat-building projects.

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