Illegal Fishing boats seized by Puntland Coastguard

Puntland marine forces seized 3  illegal fishing boats off the coast of Puntland State  after an operation carried out by the state coast guards. Deputy Commander of Puntland Maritime Police forces, Colonel Mohamud Isse Saeed  has said that the boats were taken while grabbing region’s natural resources.

“Our operation had resulted seizing of illegal boats, conducting undocumented fishing in our territory “ Saeed has told reporters in Bosaaso.

He added ‘’They confronted us as we tried to arrest them but in the end we defeated them with no casualties occurred.”

He said out of three vessels, two belongs to Yemen while the other belongs to Iran with total of 109 crew members  of which 9 of them are believed to be Somalis while the other 100 are Yemenis.

He said that the boats and the crew members were apprehended and expected to face verdict charges in Bosaaso.

This is not the first time Puntland State in Somalia arrest foreigners with boats fishing and tripping to Yemen illegally.

Meanwhile, Somali authorities have severally called on foreign navies to join the fight against illegal fishing on the country’s coast.

Although the presence of the European Union Naval Force Somalia (EUNAVFOR) as well as the presence of many other naval authorities have drastically reduced maritime crime off the Somali coast, isolated incidents have been reported frequently.

Puntland, which is estimated to have a third of Somalia’s total population, declared itself semi-autonomous in 1998, following a prolonged war in Somalia.