82 not able to determine the degree to which visible foreign boats were illegal or legal. The
volume of illegally caught fish was also beyond the scope of this study. Fishermen said that most of the foreign fishing was conducted by regional countries, and
especially Iran and Yemen. Oman, India and Kenya were also mentioned, but less frequently. Distant fleets from ChinaTaiwan were mentioned third, and boats from Russia and Spain were
noted, but much less frequently. More than 88 percent of respondents in our survey said that foreign fishing should not be allowed.
6.5 Somali Regulations on Fishing
The federal government passed laws in 1985 requiring the registration and licensing of domestic and foreign fishing vessels and are currently trying to amend this act. Somaliland and
Puntland have recently passed state laws requiring registration, licensing and reporting. The survey examined the fishermen’s knowledge and awareness of such requirements and the
degree to which they were being implemented.
Fishermen said that a number of types of fisheries regulations were in place. The most common regulations were on species restrictions, gear limits and seasonal closures. Area closures and
gear type restrictions were also mentioned, but less frequently. From an enforcement standpoint, restrictions on fish species caught or length and gear can be enforced via shoreline
patrolling and surveillance in addition to sea patrols, which can be more costly and difficult. Seasonal closures of fisheries can be enforced from landing sites as those fish species cannot be
landed during a seasonal closure, and if possession is also banned during a closed period, easier to enforce too. Area closures such as a fishery reserves or marine protected area are popular
tools worldwide and particularly useful for demersal species compared to pelagic species. However, these usually require more costly sea patrols to ensure fishermen do not enter and
fish in restricted areas. This report did not obtain any information on the level of illegal fishing with respect to the various regulations mentioned above, either by domestic or foreign vessels.
That would require more in-depth research beyond the scope of this limited survey.
Overall, the responses indicated a tendency to rely mainly on input controls such as gear limits, seasonal closures and restrictions on certain fish species, and not to rely on output
controls. While output controls are often considered superior approaches to controlling fishing efforts, more work is needed to collect landings data and get vessels and fishermen
registered and licensed. From the findings above, Somalia has a long way to go in putting these preconditions in place.
6.6 Factors that Foster IUU Fishing
