Many of the Yemeni coastal communities live in absolute poverty and depend on the vast Somalia territory rich fishing waters for their food and livelihoods, Now, I am curious to know about how much Yemeni boat owners pay for the catch for each vessel.
Before the Yemen war,
According to the FCU’s figures, Yemeni fishermen and their Somali counterparts from in northeastern Somalia have reached a kind of unofficial agreement, The Yemenis send their vessels to Somalia and then either get the Somalis to fish for them and buy the catch off them, or are allowed to fish for themselves on payment of a hefty fee. To get permission to fish, Yemeni boat-owners pay US$1,000 upfront to northeastern Somali officials through an agent in Mukalla, Southern Yemen, The Somali leaders' green light enables Yemeni fishermen to fish freely in northeastern Somali waters.
If the Yemeni fishermen choose to buy a Somali catch - caught using the Yemeni boats - they have to pay $1,200 ($1,000 for the license, and $200 in tax). The catch for each vessel can usually be sold in Yemen for up to $10,000 and a significant amount of that catch is re-exported to Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Dubai.
This article was produced by IRIN News 19 September 2007