Fisheries Laws and Regulations in Somalia

9 analysis, low stakeholder participation, absence of fisheries infrastructure, and shortage of trained personnel. The absences of central government, lack of peace and security and widespread internecine fighting have encouraged illegal fishing by foreign flagged vessels. As the civil war intensified, it was expedient for foreign illegal fishing vessels to enter Somali waters, as there was no authority to prevent them. Exacerbating this situation was the ambiguity of Somalia’s ‘declaration of 200 nm territorial sea’ alleged to be not in conformity with UN Law of the Sea UNCLOS. Somalia has since declared 200 nm EEZ in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS. However, declared EEZ boundaries with adjacent and juxtaposed countries may still present problems regarding questions of jurisdiction and legitimacy of Somalia’s claims in some maritime areas. This includes not only fisheries but other offshore resources as well, such as oil and gas. Somalia has recently taken Kenya to the International Court of Justice to arbitrate their disputed maritime boundary and an area where recent oil and gas deposits have been found. Somalia’s and Somaliland’s lack of unified approach towards a common fisheries policy and management system has given way to illegal fishing. Interim agreements signed last year by the fisheries authorities of the FGS, Federal Member States and Somaliland are positive steps that need follow up actions. A new fisheries policy that allows stakeholder participation is needed. As part of this study it’s proposed to form Regional Fisheries Management Committees, which have new national approach involving all stakeholders. This approach should be for sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources and protection of their habitats. The emphasis in the management or co- management of these resources is on stakeholder participation i.e., involving fishing communities, regional administrations, local organizations and the private sector. Global experience demonstrates that co-management approaches are more effective than top down systems. This is particularly true for small-scale fisheries where landing sites are highly dispersed over long coastlines.

2.3 Fisheries Laws and Regulations in Somalia

On May 6, 2013, the Federal Minister of Natural Resources submitted a revised version of the No. 23 1985 Fisheries Law 3 to the Prime Minister for discussion in Parliament and eventual promulgation into law. At the time of writing, it was not known if it had yet become a law. This law requires all local and foreign fishing vessels to be registered and licensed. The FGS, its member states and Somaliland have all agreed that a newly established Federal Somali Fishing Authority 4 has the authority to license foreign fishing vessels for the offshore, highly migratory 3 Letter of Minister of Natural Resources to Prime Minister of FGS dated 05062013 on revised Fisheries Law No. 23 of 1985 4 Seychelles Communique of April 6, 2014 and Addis Ababa Communique of May 3, 2014. 10 stocks in the Somali EEZ. It is not known at what stage this agency is at with operations and what its enforcement mechanisms are. In Puntland, fisheries regulation is similar to federal law, as they both stem from the 1985 Somali Fisheries Law No. 23. Puntland requires fishermen and fishing vessels to be registered and licensed of, but having the institutional and human resources to implement these mandates is another issue. The Somaliland fisheries law also derives from the 1985 Somali Fisheries Law, but is more advanced, and all laws are posted on a website http:www.somalilandlaw.com . Some laws are written in Somali, but many, including the fisheries regulation, have been translated into English. This regulation, like federal and Puntland laws and regulations, requires all fishermen and fishing vessels to be registered, and data collection for all fishing activities. The latest 2012 Somaliland Fisheries Regulation is more detailed than the federal and Puntland laws. It requires every fishing vessel to maintain a fishing logbook, all local vessels to be registered and licensed and to pay fees and royalties, joint venture licenses to be issued, all foreign fishing vessels to be registered, licensed and to pay fees and royalties. While the survey conducted for this report provides information on local fishermen’s knowledge and perceptions on some of these laws, it did not include information on how many joint venture and foreign fishing vessels have been licensed and how much is being paid in fees and royalties.

2.4 Potential of Fisheries Sector