Three fishing boats together with 109 crew members were captured by Puntland Maritime Police Force as they were illegally fishing in the Northern Somalia waters off Nugal province, an official has said.
During routine patrol, the marine police sighted the two boats carrying out illegal fishing in waters close to the former pirate stronghold town of Eyl.
‘’They confronted us as we tried to arrest them but in the end we defeated them. No casualties. They will face justice since they violated our Sea and fishing laws,’’ said the Deputy Commander of Puntland Maritime Police forces, Colonel Mohamud Isse Saeed.
According to officials, 100 crew members are Yemeni nationals while the rest are Somali nationals. The boats are owned by I
Within a week, Puntland Maritime Police forces have managed to capture eight illegal fishing boats with over 150 crew members.
The illegal business activity has reached at its highest peak ever in the horn of Africa nation waters.
Last year, Puntland President Abdiweli Mohamed Ali described illegal fishing as a ‘’natural disaster’’. But influential Politicians and businessmen have been found of facilitating the illegal trade by bringing in trawlers to the regional seas from countries such as Iran, Yemen and other Asian countries.
HM
