Mereja.Forum

[AbyssiniaLady]

12 tones of delicious Somali fish from Somalia worth Sh5 million is destroyed by the low IQ Kenyan regime, while millions of its people are hungry.

Tuesday April 21 2020


12 tones of smuggled fish from Somalia worth Sh5 million is destroyed by security agencies at the Hindi Grounds, Lamu West. PHOTO | KALUME KAZUNGU | NATION MEDIA GROUP


The government has destroyed a Sh5 million consignment of dried fish which was smuggled from Somalia.

The 761 bags of dried fish, which weighed about 12 tonnes, was recently nabbed by a multi-agency security team at Mokowe Jetty shortly after arriving from Mogadishu and Kismayu via Lamu's Kiunga border point.

The consignment was enroute to Mombasa.

The exercise to burn the contraband fish while the public watched took place at Hindi Grounds over the weekend and presided over by Lamu County Commissioner Irungu Macharia and other top county security officials.

Other officials who witnessed the destruction of the dried fish included those from the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA), the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) and officers from Immigration and Fisheries departments.

Mr Macharia gave a stern warning to businesspeople who have been sneaking into Somalia to conduct illegal trade.

Mr Macharia said they reached the decision to completely destroy the smuggled fish in order to serve as a lesson to other traders with similar intentions.

He categorically stated that the border between Kenya and Somalia is currently closed and that there should be no kind cross-border trade.

He also warned fishermen at Kiunga and Ishakani against sneaking into Somalia to conduct their activities.

“Today we’re here destroying 761 bags of dried fish which translates to 12 tonnes...We’ve seven suspects in custody. We will ensure they’re prosecuted. It’s an offense to conduct business in Somalia. The border is closed at the moment and those secretly engaging in cross-border trade are contravening the law. We will have you arrested and charged,” said Mr Macharia.

https://www.nation.co.ke/counties/lamu/ ... index.html


There are no fish in Kenya small exclusive economic zone, so Kenyan fishermen are now working for Somali men or buying fish from Somali fishermen, they have no other ways to survive!!!

[AbyssiniaLady]

Ordeal of Kenyans 'slaving' on Somali fishing vessel
Thursday July 11 2019

Fifteen Kenyan fishermen are stuck on a vessel owned by a Somali fishing company forced to work under gunpoint without pay, seafarers lobby has said.

The group is desperately calling out for help to return home, East Africa International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) officer Betty Makena told the Nation.

According to Ms Makena, the fishermen, who were hired by an unlicensed agent in Mombasa in April this year, are working in deplorable conditions and living and sleeping in the open.

She added that from pictures and information she has received, many of them are injured and have not received medical care.

The fishermen claim the employer is forcing them to work for long hours and that those who resist are threatened with a gun.

RECRUITMENT

In documents seen by the Nation, 13 fishermen were hired by Seaport Operations Limited on April 16, 2019 and proceeded to Somalia where they joined other two Kenyans who had been recruited earlier.

Ms Makena says she received a distress call regarding the fishermen working in the vessel named FV Marwan 1 operating in Somali waters.

“The fishermen got my contact from some of their colleagues who they interact with and sent me the details and the pictures on their sufferings. Majority of them are sick and they need urgent medical attention,” said Ms Makena.

She said according to documents she has received on their employment terms, Somlink Fisheries Investment, the company that owns the fishing vessel, had agreed to pay the fishers Sh26,000 monthly. However, she adds, they are yet to receive any payment since they left Mombasa in April.

“The payment is below average as according to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) labour convention which calls for an average of Sh90,000 per month,” said the ITF officer, adding that Somalia being a conflict zone a special allowance was needed.

RESCUE PLAN

Ms Makena said the seafarers lobby has contacted the Kenyan government to rescue the group.

“We understand the ship will be heading to the Djibouti fish landing site and we hope to make contacts to ensure the crew is rescued there,” she said.

She said efforts to meet he recruiting agent have proved futile after the company decline their requests.

“We have contacted Seaport Operations Limited who recruited the fishermen before handing them over to the Somali fishing vessel owner and they have refused to meet us and our investigation reveal they do not have physical office,” she said.

Seaport Operations Limited is not listed among the five agencies licensed to recruit and place maritime workers on behalf of the Kenya Maritime Authority.

ILLEGAL OPERATIONS

KMA lists Mombasa Ocean Agency, Alpha Logistics, Diverse Shipping Limited, East Africa Deep Fishing Limited and MSC Shipping Management Agency as companies authorised to recruit seafarers.

The Kenya Seafarers Union (KSU) secretary general Stephen Owaki also confirmed the agent did not follow required procedures of as it did not deposit the names of those it recruited with the union.

“Any seafarer recruiting agent after admitting maritime workers are required by law to submit the list of those recruited with KMA and KSU but on this case we did not receive any communication from the agent,” said Mr Owaki.

https://www.nation.co.ke/news/15-Kenyan ... index.html

[Digital Weyane]

I'd rather be a slave on a Somali ship than a helpless refugee on a Yemeni boat.

[AbyssiniaLady]

In 2008 Somalia granted fishing licenses to 31 Chinese vessels and are now said to be exporting Somali fish worth US$25 million to Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and other African countries annually.

[AbyssiniaLady]

I'd rather be a slave on a Somali ship than a helpless refugee on a Yemeni boat.

You clearly hate your Tigrayans people, by the way, this is not a bad idea if Somali president and Abiy Ahmed negotiate for those Tigrayan desperate young men to be licensed to fish in Somali water.

[Somaliman]

I'd rather be a slave on a Somali ship than a helpless refugee on a Yemeni boat.

You clearly hate your Tigrayans people, by the way, this is not a bad idea if Somali president and Abiy Ahmed negotiate for those Tigrayan desperate young men to be licensed to fish in Somali water.

I'm sorry, we don't want to see any Ethiopian in our seas even dead, leave alone alive and fishing in our waters. The only thing we want to share with Ethiopia is a border. The only way we can allow them into our seas is if they wanted to die in, and yet we wouldn't allow this as we don't want our seas to reek stinking Ethiopian corpses.

[AbyssiniaLady]

Crew saga a wake-up call

published : 6 Aug 2019 at 04:00

newspaper section: News




The plight of Thai crew members on a fishing trawler off the Somali coast has caused a sensation, with their families pleading for the state to help speed up the return of their sons to Thailand.

The crew members' hardship drew media attention after one of them made a video call to his friend in Thailand from the Wadani 1, explaining how harsh life is aboard the trawler as "the supply of food and drinking water has become scarce". On top of that, he was upset about overdue wage payments. Some of the crew alleged they had only been paid once in eight months.

It is reported that the crew signed two-year contracts with a joint-venture set up by Iranian and Thai nationals in October last year. But after working in Iranian waters for a few months, the boat was sold to a Somali national and headed to the waters off Somalia. The move from Iranian waters to Somali seas suggests a breach of employment contracts, but it remains unclear if the employers violated Illegal and Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing rules.

With pressure from several state agencies mounting, there are reports that the company has started to supply food and water to the crew members, and their return to Thailand is being arranged.

Nithiwat Thiranantakul, the Thai owner who abandoned the initial venture with his Iranian partners before assuming the role of an adviser to the new Somali owner, insisted the reports of shortages of food and fresh water as well as unpaid wages are merely "technical issues" and the company is trying to resolve them.

The 'Wadani 1' crew will likely be able to return home soon, but Thai authorities must realise their jobs are not over yet. They must be aware that the need to rescue the crew only reflects the ministries concerned not having implemented preventive measures and precautions in the first place.

On the contrary, there is a need to look beyond the sensational nature of the current incident. Officials -- especially those at the Labour and Fisheries ministries -- must improve their work ethic and adopt proactive measures to tackle issues related to fishing, which are complicated for a number of reasons.

While it is true that some fishing trawlers head abroad because of the depletion of marine stocks in Thai waters, a significant number of fishing trawlers have shifted to other areas because they want to avoid anti-IUU measures implemented by the Prayut Chan-o-cha government. In doing so, quite a few of these trawler owners have taken advantage of legal loopholes that make it difficult for the Thai state and laws to reach them. It's hard even to verify if certain vessels are Thai-owned.

It's high time the authorities concerned brainstormed and closed all the loopholes. It's crucial to look into the possibility of imposing more stringent measures to guarantee the well-being of fishing crews working far from home to protect them from unfair employment contracts and guarantee they get paid.

The Wadani 1 saga is a wake-up call. The fact is that many fishing vessels with Thai crews on board, including the Wadani 2 owned by the same firm, roam foreign waters, some in very risky and lawless parts of the world.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/1725203

[Tog Wajale]

But Not Worst Than Dedebit Woorgach Agga*me Tigriayan Dry Lands People Starving Silently.

[AbyssiniaLady]

I'm sorry, we don't want to see any Ethiopian in our seas even dead, leave alone alive and fishing in our waters. The only thing we want to share with Ethiopia is a border. The only way we can allow them into our seas is if they wanted to die in, and yet we wouldn't allow this as we don't want our seas to reek stinking Ethiopian corpses.

I am not suggesting for free, Ethiopia will pay just a sum of money to Somalia in return for licences to fish in Somali waters, It would benefit both countries.

[Somaliman]

I'm sorry, we don't want to see any Ethiopian in our seas even dead, leave alone alive and fishing in our waters. The only thing we want to share with Ethiopia is a border. The only way we can allow them into our seas is if they wanted to die in, and yet we wouldn't allow this as we don't want our seas to reek stinking Ethiopian corpses.

I am not suggesting for free, Ethiopia will pay just a sum of money to Somalia in return for licences to fish in Somali waters, It would benefit both countries.

Even if they paid with gold, no Ethiopian in our seas. Before we do anything with Ethiopia, trust between the two countries must be forged and tested and old wounds healed first.

[AbyssiniaLady]

Even if they paid with gold, no Ethiopian in our seas. Before we do anything with Ethiopia, trust between the two countries must be forged and tested and old wounds healed first.

There is no need to heal old wounds, what both countries need right now is a fisheries agreement that's beneficial for both countries, Somali fishing industry is going to create lots of great job opportunities for both Somalis and Ethiopians.

Ethiopia has an abundant supply of cheap labor, So both sides benefit.

[AbyssiniaLady]

Somali waters are some of the most productive in the world, If Somalis organize themselves and build a modern fisheries sector, Somalia could easily become a major fish exporter, Foreigner fishing vessel are plundering millions of tonnes of fish from Somali rich marine waters now.

[Somaliman]

Somali waters are some of the most productive in the world, If Somalis organize themselves and build a modern fisheries sector, Somalia could easily become a major fish exporter, Foreigner fishing vessel are plundering millions of tonnes of fish from Somali rich marine waters now.

You deserve to replace the current lame duck president and co. of Somalia, who all they see and think about is how to kick a head of a federal state out and replace him with a puppet of theirs. They don't see all the "foreigner fishing vessels that are plundering millions of tonnes of fish from Somali rich marine waters"! So sad!

[AbyssiniaLady]

The president is an individual, he can't do it alone, Somalis (including Somali Bantu) as a whole need to organize themselves and work as a team, they should invest more resources in other activities like fishing sector than livestock and Khat.

[AbyssiniaLady]

After 31 Chinese vessels and several Turkish vessels were legally authorized to fish in Somali waters by the Somali government, The European Union and EU Naval Force suddenly changed their attitude towards Somali Volunteer Coast Guard, Fear of competition for Somali resources.


Scope of Illegal Fishing

According to the FAO’s High Seas Task Force (HSTF), an estimated 700 distant-water fishing nation vessels were engaged in unlicensed fishing in Somali waters in 2005. Four years later, according to the HSTF, more than 800 distant-water fishing nation vessels from over 17 nations were carrying out IUU fishing annually in Somali waters. Distant-water fishing nation vessels appear to catch fish from Somali waters with an estimated value of more than $450 million per year.

The Somali coastal upwelling system is one of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world that has attracted distant-water fleets (mainly from Europe and East Asia) to fish for these high value species that are in demand around the world.




Somalia is rich in natural resources and poor in exploitation of those god given resources.

[Somaliman]

The president is an individual, he can't do it alone, Somalis (including Somali Bantu) as a whole need to organize themselves and work as a team, they should invest more resources in other activities like fishing sector than livestock and Khat.

He is an individual, okay, but he's the one to come up with a policy and agenda to run the country, or he has to let others do the job.
In Somalia, no one, whether as an individual, team, or group, can do anything without the approval of either the federal government, or the federal states - but these, when they're not opposing each other, are after other things and don't care about what is good for the people or the country.

Somalia doesn't work as you imagine! In addition, the current government doesn't even have a full control of 20% of Mogadishu, leave alone monitoring the illegal fishing taking place in the Somali waters.

BTW, we don't call anyone Somali Bantu in Somalia or among Somalis!

[Somaliman]

Farmajo will be leaving at the end of this year, and his current prime minister who is itching to replace him will not be elected - and hopefully a competent person, who knows how to run a country, will be elected to sort this country out.

Lame duck fraudulent Farmajo has been a liability to the progress of Somalia, costing the country four years, doing absolutely nothing.

In Somalia, there's a government and system, but it's a country where even if you wanted to give hundred dollar notes to poor people in the streets, you would need an authorization and some form of protection, which is not necessarily an armed one.

[AbyssiniaLady]

The great fish robbery that costs poor Somalia millions.

(documentary at the end of last year 2019)

Cash Investigation.

The European bandits not only robbed Somalia of its marine resources but they also polluted the entire Indian Ocean with their FADs,

According to Dr. Alain Fonteneau, France and Spain tuna fishing vessels have placed hundreds of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in the Indian Ocean, especially along the coastline of Somalia which is by far the largest and the richest fishing grounds in the western indian ocean region, However a significant percentage of abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fads that need to be retrieved from the sea are now drifting around the indian ocean and thousands of kilometers away from the Somali coastline, It's a revelation,

When the french tv reporter confronted Yvon Riva (président de l’organisation française des producteurs de thon congelé et surgelé) about the pollution, abandoned Fish Aggregating Devices, plundering and pillaging Somali waters etc, his answer was there's no money to clean the ocean and a retrieval programme for abandoned fads on the open ocean would either not be feasible or would be very difficult and too expensive, He had no words for plundering and pillaging Somali waters, espèce d'imbécile,

French & Spanish bandits have been active in Somali waters for several years, using Victoria port, Seychelles capital to offload their catch!!!


Screen shot, Map showing drifting detected fads locations.


French President of the Orthongel, (president of the french fishing bandits)


Dr. Alain Fonteneau is a French scientist at the Institut de Recherches pour le Développement.

[AbyssiniaLady]

What is a Fish Aggregating Device.

FADs are drifting or anchored buoys or rafts that attract and aggregate pelagic fish, making them easier to find and catch. Fishers have long known that fish congregate around naturally occurring floating objects such as logs or a dead whale and that by mimicking this effect fish aggregation could be exploited. FADs do not increase the abundance of fish, but only redistribute them into a smaller area. It is also important to note that drifting FADs and anchored FADs have quite different uses, impacts, and management concerns.Today there are thousands of FADs in use worldwide for industrial handline, purse seine, and pole and line fisheries. There are three basic designs for anchored FADs – the spar buoy and the Indian Ocean FAD as well as the far more common artisanal FADs made from local materials such as bamboo and coconut fronds.