FAO to donate fish magnets to Somali coastal communities

Somalia’s small scale artisanal fishermen who have been lacking modern fishing technology are expecting to get fish-aggregating devices (FADs) from UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), according to the agency website.

The move will create new fishing opportunities, boosting incomes, food security and nutrition.

A ship carrying 25 fish-aggregating devices (FADs) is expected to reach Somalia soon.

“FAO worked with 20 fishing communities and federal and regional ministries in Somalia to identify the locations where the FADS will be placed and ensure that they will be accepted and well used by fishing communities” said Andrew read, FAO fisheries coordinator.

The FADs consist of a large buoy attached to a floating “mat” a few metres across. Plant life quickly grows under the mat which in turn attracts large numbers of fish – acting as a “fish magnet”.

The devices anchored to the seabed will provide Somalia’s artisanal fishermen with a low-cost way to access nutritious and often high-value oceanic fish species that they otherwise struggle to find.

Somali fishermen have continuously been complaining about overfishing of illegal fishing trawlers, leading them to lose their economic opportunities.

A recently released report by the group Secure Fisheries, called Securing Somali Fisheries unveils new satellite data showing that foreign IUU fishing vessels are now catching three times more fish than Somalis. They are targeting some of the highest-value fish in our waters, leaving their Somali counterparts to compete over lower-value fish.

The report shows that, making matters worse, these foreign fleets have contributed to overfishing our swordfish, snapper, marlin, and shark populations. Foreign bottom trawlers have fished recklessly and acted with impunity, dragging heavy nets, razing the bottom of our seafloor, and damaging an astounding 120,000 square kilometers (46,000 square miles) of important marine habitat. The damage is so extensive that even if trawling were stopped today, this area may need many years to recover.