Somalians, who are currently engaged in illegal fishing in Somalia, could become a stepping stone for pirates in the region.
Read the story from Reuters here.
"The international community has spent millions of dollars trying to counter piracy, help Somalia and make sure that (sea) trade is not interrupted, but because of the activity of a relatively small number of illegal fishing vessels, all that is put at risk," says Alan Cole to Reuters, who is a public official at the ODC - United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime. He points to the fact that the pirate ringleaders and gangs could use the fishing as a pretext for hijacking other ships.
Piracy off the Horn of Africa carried out by Somalian pirates has pretty much been on hold for years and the most recent successful hijacking took place in May 2012. If piracy makes a comeback, it will mean large insurance sums, big expenses for shipowners and a general pressure put on the global trade and military fleet.
Yaasin Ali Yusuf, who is the Director General of the Ministry of Fisheries in Puntland, fears that the problems from previous years are on their way back.
"It's a very serious issue and I'm very concerned ... that it might bring back piracy," said Yuusuf, and highlighted that Somalia could not deal with the problem on its own.
In February this year, the Danish government presented a new pirate strategy, which focuses on the fighting of piracy not only at the Horn of Africa, but also in West Africa where piracy has been increasing in recent years.
West Africa anti-piracy effort looks like a tough job
Denmark to fight pirates off West Africa
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