Agulhas and Somali Current Large Marine Ecosystems Project

History

• The Somalia region has been continuously inhabited for over 2,500 years by numerous and diverse ethnic groups. Coastal trading posts were established around the 7th century and these developed, over time, into Arab sultanates. The British, French and Italians established protectorates on the Somali coast during the late 19th century.
• The French region, around Djibouti, became known as French Somaliland. This remained a French colony until becoming independent as the republic of Djibouti in 1977.
• In 1960, Italian Somaliland, renamed Somalia, was granted independence. Britain also proclaimed the end of its protectorate in 1960 and the legislatures of the two new states created the United Republic of Somalia.
• After decades of conflict, a parliament was convened in 2004 and a new president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, was elected but internal disputes led to renewed fighting in Somalia. Islamist militias won control of Mogadishu and, through alliances, much of southern Somalia.
• In December 2006, Somali government forces, supported by Ethiopian forces, ousted the Islamists. The government assumed control of Mogadishu, declared a state of emergency and called for the surrender of private weapons. The situation settled somewhat but the government and its Ethiopian allies still face frequent attacks from an Islamic insurgency.

Geography

• Somalia is located on the east coast of Africa, directly south of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Djibouti in the northwest, Ethiopia in the west and Kenya to the southwest.
• Somalia has the longest coastline in Africa. It comprises almost the entire African coast of the Gulf of Aden and a long stretch of the Indian Ocean.
• Conditions are arid and desert-like. In most areas, barren coastal lowland rises to an interior plateau which stretches toward the northern and western highlands.
• The Jubba and the Webe Shebele are the only important rivers.
• The capital of Somalia is Mogadishu.

Demographics

• According to UN estimates, Somalia’s population is approximately 10,700,000 people. It is difficult to count the population because of the large number of nomads and the many refugees.
• Most Somalis belong to one of six clans, the biggest of which are the Ishaaq, the Darood and the Hawiye. The clans themselves are divided into smaller sub-clans, which are distinguished by high and low social classes.
• Somali, the national tongue, is used virtually everywhere. Arabic, Italian and English are also official languages.
• Virtually all Somalis are Sunni Muslims. The constitution discourages the propagation of any religion other than Islam.

Economy

• Somalia is one of the world’s poorest countries. The civil war in the 1990s led to a collapse of the economy. Economic growth is hampered by a lack of adequate transport, with no railroads, only one airline and few paved roads. During the civil war, the small industrial sector closed down.
• About 70% of Somalis are pastoral nomads, raising camels, cattle, sheep and goats. About 20% of the workforce is agricultural, farming bananas for export and sugar, sorghum, mangoes, sesame and corn for the domestic market. The remaining 10% of the population engages in trading, fishing, or handicrafts production.
• Somalia’s most valuable mineral resource is uranium. However, iron ore and many other minerals are unexploited. Petroleum deposits have been found, but the industry shut down because of civil strife.
• Agricultural processing, such as sugar refining, meat and fish canning and leather tanning, forms the bulk of Somalian industry and comprises 10% of GDP.
• Somalia’s chief trading partners are the United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, Yemen and Oman. Livestock, bananas, hides and skins, fish, charcoal and scrap metal are exported. Imports include manufactured goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs and construction materials.
• The currency of Somalia is the Somali shilling (SOS).

Social services and infrastructure

• There are a few doctors and hospitals in Mogadishu and other cities. However, it is estimated that 80% of Somalis have no access to healthcare. Many unqualified people practice a form of medicine at private facilities and folk medicine is common.
• Qur`anic schools are the basic system of instruction for religion in Somalia and reach the greatest number of students relative to other education sub-sectors. Primary schools have seen an increase in private enrolment over the last three years. There are eight universities that offer higher education in southern Somalia.
• With Somalia’s public telecommunications system almost completely destroyed, private wireless companies thrive in most major cities. Somalia has the cheapest cellular calling rate in Africa.
• The transport system in Somalia remains under-developed. There is one international airport at Mogadishu. The main harbours are in Berbera, Kismayu and Mogadishu, which now has modern shipping berths. Very little of the road system in Somalia is paved. The two good roads in the country lead from Mogadishu to Burao in the north and Baidoa in the west.

Marine environment

• As a result of the nutrient-rich water upwelling from the depths of the northern Indian Ocean, the coast of Somalia is believed to have some of the most productive fish stocks in the world. Fishing plays an important role in coastal communities, but the majority of Somalis eat very little fish and, as a result, fishery resources remained largely untapped until the last few decades.
• Because Somalia’s continental shelf is generally narrow, fishers have traditionally fished for pelagic species from small boats operated from the shore.
• Somalia’s waters are home to abundant and diverse marine resources, including seabirds, whales, whale sharks, dugongs and several dolphin and tuna species. Marine resources with fisheries potential include shrimps, lobsters, gastropods, sharks, batoid fishes and bony fishes.
• Somali waters are not controlled by any single political entity. Each coastal region has a militia which controls its own area. Some militias enter into fisheries agreements with foreign countries. These have often proved to be controversial. Militia posing as coastguards have been involved in violent kidnappings, vessel seizures and ransom demands on vessels sailing through Somal waters.

Fisheries

• Marine fisheries in Somalia comprise two distinct sectors: the artisanal sector and the industrial sector.
• The artisanal sector operates in inshore areas, using houris, which are 5 m long canoes. These are usually operated with two paddles, but are sometimes fitted with an engine. Glass reinforced plastic boats are also popular. Fishing gear employed consists of handlines, gill nets and longlines. The fish targeted by artisanal fishers include pelagic species like tuna, mackerels, sardines and anchovies as well as several hundred demersal fish species. Sharks and spiny lobsters are also targeted.
• The industrial fisheries are dominated by several foreign fishing companies that have been issued with licenses to fish in Somalia’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Recipients have included Italian, Korean, Spanish, Japanese, Greek and Egyptian vessels. There are also an estimated 700 foreign-owned vessels that engage in unlicensed fishing in Somali waters. This causes problems for legitimate Somali fishermen and makes it difficult to monitor, control and survey the Somali EEZ.
• While the state of fishery resources is unconfirmed, it is thought that inshore marine resources, mainly targeted by artisanal fishers, are lightly exploited. Off-shore stocks, targeted by both the artisanal and industrial sectors, are thought to have declined dramatically in the past few years.

Sources