According to UN envoy there are many incidents of illegal fishing and dumping of toxic waste off the coat of the lawless Somalia. It is certainly not good for the country as well as for the whole world because the waste dumping not only pollutes Somalia’s waters but also contaminate the whole ocean. As there is no effective government in Somalia, there is so much irregular fishing from European and Asian countries.
Ahmedou Ould Abdallah had asked several international non-governmental organizations, including Global Witness, which works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide, “to trace this illegal fishing, illegal dumping of waste. He added that it is a disaster off the Somali coast, a disaster (for) the Somali environment, the Somali population.
According to Ould Abdallah the illegal fishermen are paying corrupt Somali ministers or warlords for protection or to secure fake licenses. It is said that the east African waters, particularly off Somalia, have huge numbers of commercial fish species, including the prized yellowfin tuna. There are evidences that foreign trawlers reportedly use prohibited fishing equipment, including nets with very small mesh sizes and sophisticated underwater lighting systems, to lure fish to their traps.
As per UN envoy allegations of waste dumping off Somalia by European companies have been heard for years, according to Somalia watchers. The problem was highlighted in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami when broken hazardous waste containers washed up on Somali shores. Recently the attention of the world focused on pirates off Somalia as more than 25 ships seized by pirates there last year despite US navy patrols, confirmed the International Maritime Bureau.
