Africa is home to some of the largest lakes in the world, both in size and volume. These lakes play a significant role in the political, social, economic and environmental life of many of the continent’s people and their importance is set to increase. Africa is also a vast continent of incredible diversity, physical beauty and rich natural resources though extreme poverty and life-threatening diseases are very real threats currently.

In fact, over the last five years as much as un-estimated arena Africa has experienced a dramatic environmental shift with widespread corruption and a continuing lack of resources for enforcement mean and massive crackdown on illegal fishing by foreign fishermen. Read the below atrocity by country.

Libya

There are researches emerging of unregulated and probably illegal tuna fishing in Libyan waters during last year’s conflict. Signals recorded from boats’ electronic “black boxes” show a large presence inside Libyan waters, a major spawning ground for the endangered bluefin tuna.

Rwanda

On the year 2010, Illegal fishing items worth Rwf16 million were set ablaze in Shangi Sector, Nyamasheke district. The items are said to be threatening the survival of fish in Lake Kivu. Residents requested the authorities to also follow up on fishermen who target areas where fish lay their eggs. “Such people end up catching very young fish and also destroying fish eggs before they are hatched,” said one resident.

Angola

In Angolan waters alone illegal fishing in only the sardine and mackerel industries amounted to roughly $49 million annually, more than a fifth of the total value of Angolan fish exports.

Mozambique

Mozambique is also suffering the illegal fishermen over its territorial water. On late last year was discovered a large quantity of sea cucumbers being dried in the back yard. They also discovered a quantity of shark fins, seahorses and sea turtles. Sea turtles are a protected species and are illegal to catch. Hunting turtles, and the trade in ornaments made from turtle shell have been illegal in Mozambique since 1973, and Mozambique is a party to the conventions protecting turtles. Mozambique loses nearly $38 million for illegal fishing in the tuna and shrimp industry.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea

Sierra Leone and Liberia are setting up ways to help small-time fishermen monitor and report the illegal foreign commercial fishing that costs each country tens of millions of dollars each year. Guinea alone loses some $100 million per year in catches.

Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast, which is trying to recover from a 2011 civil war, is being deprived of some 55,116 tons of fish by illegal fishing every year, The country is in talks with a French aerospace firm, Thales SA, about using satellite technology to monitor its territorial waters, and the government of Ivory Coast is also seeking more high-speed patrol boats to intercept suspect vessels.

Somalia

The international community has failed to grapple with the real underlying political and economic issues facing the troubled East African nation of Somalia, which has been surviving without an effective government for over two decades, according to a new study. With the country’s 3,300-km coastline virtually unprotected, industrial fishing vessels from Europe and Asia have entered the area in large numbers and are plundering Somalia’s rich maritime resources.

“Having over-fished their home waters, these sophisticated factory ships are seeking catch in one of the world’s richest remaining fishing zones,” says the report published by the New York-based Global Policy Forum (GPF).

On 2010 a report on pirates by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said the value of illegal catches from Somalia’s maritime jurisdiction is estimated at between $90 million and $300 million a year, and that foreign fishing vessels hail from all around the world.

The report’s author, Clive Schofield, a research fellow with the Australian Centre for Ocean Resources and Security at the University of Wollongong, called it ironic that nations contributing warships to anti-piracy efforts are in some cases directly linked to the foreign fishing vessels “stealing Somalia’s offshore resources.”

“This situation has led some pirates to justify their actions on basis of illegal foreign fishing activities — styling themselves ‘coastguards’ and characterizing ransom demands as ‘fines,’” the report said. “Without condoning acts of violence at sea, it is clear that the Somalis who hijack shipping off their coast are in fact not the only ‘pirates’ operating in these waters,” it said.

Senegal

On 24 February, 2012 a Greenpeace activists caught Russian-flagged vessel fishing illegally in Senegalese waters, painting the hull of the trawler with the word “Pillage” (the French word for plunder). Hiding ship names and call signs under large banners or nets is a common practice of vessels trying to avoid identification whilst fishing illegally.

“Not only are these trawlers emptying our waters, but they also show a tremendous lack of respect for our fishing laws,” said Raoul Monsembula, Greenpeace oceans campaigner.

The capacity of these super trawlers is simply massive. Often that they are over 100 meters long and pull behind them trawling nets that are up to 700 meters long and 50 meters wide. They can catch up to 250 tons of fish a day – a catch that is literally emptying the sea, making it very difficult for local fishermen to make a living. Recent studies show that overfishing in Senegalese waters threatens the sustainability of several fish species like Sardinella and horse mackerel.

Malawi

Malawi is losing $28 million (about MK4.6 billion) worth of fisheries resources each year due to unsustainable fishing in natural bodies, an estimate which represents 0.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the Ministry of Finance and Development’s Economic valuation of Sustainable Natural Resource Use report in Malawi on January, 2012.

The Republic of Congo

The Republic of Congo has banned 69 Chinese fishing boats from its waters for illicit activities on January 18, 2012. The banned boats, which belong to three Chinese companies named as Lulu, Rong Chang and Huayi Jinri, were fishing in a prohibited zone up to six nautical miles offshore, which is set aside for reproduction and renewal of fish stocks.

Uganda

On January 17, 2012 the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries issued that the crackdown on illegal fishing in all Uganda’s fresh waters is likely to yield results as the country registers a slight recovery in catching mature fish.

Data from the ministry show that the country is losing close to $140 million from the fisheries industry due to illegal fishing and tax evasion. Currently the country is earning only $80 million (shs) from the $220 million it was earning before strengthening the policy to totally ban young fish on the market.

Nigeria

Nigeria loses $60m yearly to illegal fishing. In reverse, the nation is importing over $200 million worth of seafood products annually to supplement local production. There are very big vessels, mostly from Asian countries, coming into Nigeria waters to poach on its natural resources and they fish in the most irresponsible manner and these are people who don’t have any license to fish in Nigeria waters.

No thanks to the presence of illegal industrial fishing boats that are raking in large quantities of fish for export, Experts say illegal fishing costs African countries over $1 billion yearly. Illegal fishing and poor management of marine stocks cost the world $100 billion every year.

However, there is dramatic increase in incidents of illegal but unreported and unregulated fishing in African waters which absolutely could boost piracy on the rise over African continent and will renew again full thank given from African people at large as the MALINDI, people of Kenya did one thing to thank Somali pirates for Better fishing on January, 2010 if the United Nations delay to monitor over the issue and initiate a fact finding team as soon over African territorial waters.

Finally, I have to say “How can African Leaders move along with the illegal fishing industry across African territorial waters?  Hopefully, this question will remain no-answer by certain reasons actually.

After two decades of sliding backwards, Somalia needs a step change in effort both from the international community, but also Somalia’s political leaders due to that the United Kingdom organized a well prepared and high diplomatic conference on Somalia on February 23, 2012 at London. Senior representatives from more than 40 governments and multi-lateral organizations were attended London conference with the aim of delivering a new international approach to Somalia.

This conference comes after when African Union forces have pushed Al Shabaab out of Mogadishu to create political space and Kenyan action has also put Al Shabaab on the back foot. On the humanitarian front, the Conference provided an opportunity to highlight the need for donors to continue to respond generously and on the basis of needs; invest more in livelihoods and basic social services and to work towards greater consensus on more durable solutions for refugees.

“We want London to be the start not the end of a process. So we want the Conference to agree how we handle Somalia issues in future: a reformed International Contact Group; UN and African leadership; and more of us deploying diplomats and staff into Somalia, not just basing ourselves in Kenya “said UK prime minster Mr David Cameron

Apart from a range of action across political, security and stability priorities, London’s Somalia Conference endorsed important new efforts to tackle piracy.  For his country’s contribution Somalia prime minster Abdiwali Mohamed Ali said “the international community should endorse that the illegal foreign fishers are similar to Somali pirates as they are doing illegal fishing over Somalia territorial waters”.

• Somaliland signed a ground breaking agreement with the Seychelles yesterday to transfer convicted pirates to prisons in Somaliland – the first transfer of 19 convicted pirates is likely to take place by the end of March.

• Puntland made clear its commitment to the transfer of convicted pirates from prisons in the region to prisons in Puntland from August.

• And the UK announced the creation of an international task force on pirate ransoms. This will bring together experts from across the world to better understand the ransom business cycle and how to break it. UK declared that they will be working with international partners over the coming weeks to set out the structure and approach of the Task Force.

Shell, BP, Maersk and the Japanese Shipping Industry announced that they will be supporting coastal community projects in Somalia to also help tackle piracy.

The United Nations secretary general Mr. Ban Ki-moon who was attended the conference said” Today I call for steps to improve security, advance the political process and step up assistance for recovery, reconstruction and development. I visited Mogadishu last December.I saw the damage and danger. But I also saw the promise and potential of Somalia.”

“After a seventeen-year absence, the UN Political Office for Somalia, UNPOS, returned to Mogadishu.  The United Nations is now closer and more accessible to ordinary citizens, activists, journalists and businesspeople. Thanks to the AMISOM troops, we can see a new horizon where the insurgency gets weaker … the peace progress gets stronger … and the TFG’s authority expands”. Mr. Ban Ki-moon added

Finally, the participants all together issued a communiqué consist of 26 articles and agreed. Have look the below articles agreed for your information.

1. The London Conference on Somalia took place at Lancaster House on 23rd February 2012, attended by fifty-five delegations from Somalia and the international community.

2. We met at a key moment in Somalia’s history. Somalia is emerging from the worst   humanitarian crisis in the world.  African and Somali troops have pushed Al Shabaab out of Mogadishu and other areas. The transitional institutions come to an end in August 2012, and the people of Somalia want clarity on what will follow.  The situation remains precarious, and in urgent need of support from the international community.

3. Decisions on Somalia’s future rest with the Somali people. The Somali political leadership must be accountable to the people. The international community’s role is to facilitate Somalia’s progress and development: our strength is in unity and coordinated support to Somalia.  We noted the importance of listening to and working with Somalis inside and outside Somalia, and welcomed their engagement in the run-up to this Conference.

4. The Conference focussed on the underlying causes of instability, as well as the symptoms (famine, refugees, piracy, and terrorism). We, the international community, agreed: to inject new momentum into the political process; to strengthen AMISOM and help Somalia develop its own security forces; to help build stability at local level; and to step up action to tackle pirates and terrorists.

Political

5. We agreed that the Transitional Federal Institutions’ mandate ends in August 2012. There must be no further extensions. We welcomed the agreements that chart the way towards more representative government: the Transitional Federal Charter, the Djibouti Agreement, the Kampala Accord, and the Roadmap. We welcomed the progress represented by the Garowe Principles, endorsed the priority of convening a Constituent Assembly, and emphasised that the Assembly must be representative of the views of the Somali people of all regions and constituencies, and that women must be part of the political process.  In line with Garowe II, we agreed to incentivise progress and act against spoilers to the peace process, and that we would consider proposals in this regard before the Istanbul Conference in June.

6. The Conference recognised the need for the international community to support any dialogue that Somaliland and the TFG or its replacement may agree to establish in order to clarify their future relations.

7. We condemned terrorism and violent extremism, whether perpetrated by Somalis or foreigners. We called on all those willing to reject violence to join the Djibouti peace process.  We agreed to develop a defectors’ programme to support those who leave armed groups.

8. We emphasised the urgency of Somalia funding its own public services, and using its assets for the benefit of the people, as well as tackling corruption.  We welcomed the progress that has been made in establishing a Joint Financial Management Board to increase transparency and accountability in the collection and efficient use of public revenues, as well as international development aid, and which will help strengthen Somali public financial management institutions.  A declaration by the initial members of the JFMB is at Annex A.

9. Respect for human rights must be at the heart of the peace process. We called for action to address in particular the grave human rights violations and abuses that women and children face.  We emphasised that journalists must be able to operate freely and without fear.  Civilians must be protected. We called on the Somali authorities to take measures to uphold human rights and end the culture of impunity.  We agreed to step up international efforts including through the UN human rights architecture.

Security and Justice

10. We agreed that security and justice were essential both to a successful political process and to development.  Better security could only be achieved sustainably in parallel with better justice and the rule of law.

11. We expressed gratitude to those countries whose troops had served as peacekeepers and paid tribute to the achievements and sacrifices of AMISOM and other forces. We welcomed joint planning by the UN and African Union and reiterated the importance of effective command and control. We welcomed the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 2036, which expands AMISOM’s mandate and raises the troop ceiling.  We encouraged AMISOM to ensure the protection of civilians.  We encouraged partners, especially new donors, to contribute to funding for AMISOM, including through the EU.

12. We agreed that, over time, Somalis should take over responsibility for providing their own security and develop their own justice systems to deal with the threats to their security and improve access to justice.  We noted that Somalis themselves must decide what security and justice arrangements they need.

13. We acknowledged the good work underway in supporting the Somali security and justice sectors. We agreed that we would build an international framework of partners in order to bring much needed coordination and focus to those efforts, underpinned by a set of principles at annex B, and working closely with the UN’s Joint Security Committee.

Piracy

14. We reiterated our determination to eradicate piracy, noting that the problem requires a comprehensive approach on land as well as at sea. We expressed our concern that hostages in Somalia are being held longer and with more use of violence.  We welcomed the work of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia.  We also welcomed the success of international military efforts, and remain committed to such efforts with robust rules of engagement and sufficient force generation.  We agreed that piracy cannot be solved by military means alone, and reiterated the importance of supporting communities to tackle the underlying causes of piracy, and improving the effective use of Somali coastal waters through regional maritime capacity-building measures.  We welcomed those initiatives underway and agreed to coordinate and support such initiatives better.  We called for full implementation of the Djibouti Code of Conduct and the adoption of an Exclusive Economic Zone.  We look forward to reviewing progress including at the Piracy Conference in the UAE in June.

15. We welcomed the efforts of partners in industry against piracy, and called for greater take-up of Best Management Practice on ships.  We welcomed current work on international guidance on the use of private armed security companies.

16. There will be no impunity for piracy.  We called for greater development of judicial capacity to prosecute and detain those behind piracy both in Somalia and in the wider region and recognised the need to strengthen capacity in regional states. We welcomed new arrangements, which enable some states and naval operations to transfer suspected pirates captured at sea for trial by partners across the Indian Ocean region, and if convicted, to transfer them to prisons in Puntland and Somaliland which meet international standards.  We noted the intention to consider further the possibility of creating courts in Somalia specialised in dealing with piracy.

17. We reiterated our determination to prosecute the kingpins of piracy.  Recognising work already undertaken, we agreed to enhance coordination on illegal financial flows and to coordinate intelligence gathering and investigations.  We noted the establishment of a Regional Anti-Piracy Prosecutions Intelligence Coordination Centre in the Seychelles.

Terrorism

18. Terrorism poses a serious threat to security in Somalia itself, to the region, and internationally.  It has inflicted great suffering on the Somali population.  We agreed to work together with greater determination, and with full respect for the rule of law, human rights, and international humanitarian law, to build capacity to disrupt terrorism in the region, and to address the root causes of terrorism.  We agreed on the importance of disrupting terrorists’ travel to and from Somalia, and on the importance of disrupting terrorist finances, and called on countries in the region to implement the Financial Action Task Force’s recommendations on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.  We noted that effective intelligence gathering and investigation, and support to the Somali criminal justice system, were critical to the fight against terrorism. We agreed to work with the Global Counter Terrorism Forum and other international and regional bodies to deliver this important work.

Stability and Recovery

19. We welcomed the success in some areas of Somalia in establishing local areas of stability, and agreed to increase support to build legitimate and peaceful authorities, and improve services to people living in these areas.  We acknowledged the importance of creating the conditions inside Somalia for durable solutions for the displaced, that respect international laws. We agreed that such efforts should promote local and regional cohesion, and converge with the national political process.

20. We considered the implementation of the Mogadishu Recovery and Stabilisation Plan important. We agreed to expand programmes to newly-recovered areas. We would focus support on enabling the delivery of immediate and sustainable benefits to ordinary Somali people: safety and security, economic opportunities and basic services.  We would promote effective and accountable local administrations, and support the resolution of disputes.

21. We agreed that all support to local areas of stability should be in accordance with the New Deal for engagement in fragile states recently adopted in Busan, and build on the stabilisation strategies prepared by both IGAD and the Transitional Federal Government. We endorsed a set of principles to guide international support to local areas of stability in Somalia (Annex C). We agreed to continue funding local stability through existing programmes, and noted the establishment of a new Stability Fund to which a number of us will contribute.

22. We agreed that Somalia’s long-term reconstruction and economic development depended on a vibrant private sector, and that both aid and diaspora finance could develop Somalia’s considerable potential in livestock, fisheries and other sectors.  We noted that stability was a prerequisite for most sustainable investments in infrastructure such as electricity, roads and water systems.  We looked forward to further discussion on all these issues at the Istanbul Conference.

Humanitarian

23. The Conference was preceded by a separate meeting on humanitarian issues co-chaired by the United Nations and the United Arab Emirates.  Notwithstanding the end of the famine, participants expressed concern at the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and committed to providing humanitarian aid based solely on need.  They agreed a set of conclusions on humanitarian issues and linking relief with longer-term recovery.

International coordination

24. We agreed to carry forward work agreed at London through the International Contact Group on Somalia (ICG), and welcomed the ICG’s decision in Djibouti to look at restructuring to become more effective. We recommended that the ICG establish working groups on the political process, security and justice, and stability and development. We noted that, within the ICG, a core group of engaged countries would drive progress in support of UN, AU and IGAD efforts.

25. We welcomed the efforts of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) in facilitating progress in Somalia. We also welcomed the role of IGAD and the African Union, and the support of the League of Arab States, the European Union, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.  We encouraged effective coordination between UN entities working on Somalia.  While recognising the still challenging security situation in Somalia, we welcomed UNPOS’       relocation to Mogadishu and agreed that we would aim to spend more time on the ground in Somalia in order to work more closely with Somalis on the challenging tasks ahead.

Conclusion

26. We expressed the hope that a new era of Somali politics, supported by the international community, will bring peace to Somalia. We are determined to place the interests of the Somali people at the heart of all our actions. We looked forward to the day when the situation in Somalia would have made sufficient progress for an international conference to be held there.  In the meantime, we will redouble our efforts to support the people of Somalia in their search for a better future for their country.

TheUSsoldiers carried out a military action against Somali pirates in order to release two foreign hostages including American women. The operation was done on earlier Wednesday morning at around 4:30 AM in small village called Higalle and located in the semi-autonomous Galmudug region in October while working for the Danish Demining Group (DDG).

AU.S.military helicopters and Navy seals operating out of an American base in the tiny east African nation ofDjibouti. After the mission, they returned to theDjiboutibase with the two Hostages Jessica Buchanan and Dane Poul Hagen.

The president of the semiautonomous state of Galmudug welcomed the opration while he was on his way from Galkayo to Hobyo district in order to push the release of aGermanyjournalist abducted also there. Hobyo is a pirate hub district in centralSomalia.

Somaliais one of the most dangerous places in the world, polluted by pirate gangs and countless Islamic militant groups, a lawless space that has languished for 21 years without a powerful central government. Many other hostages remain inSomalia, including a British tourist, several other aid workers, shipping crews and others.