Somalia

Somalia has a coastline of 3,330 km, the longest of mainland Africa, and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 1,165,500 square km . The marine fishery resources in Somali waters are said to be one of the richest in the African continent. The marine fisheries is divided into offshore (foreign flagged fishing vessels), coastal or artisanal and houri by traditional boats. Somalia does not have any industrialised fleet operating under its flag, and the only fleet currently operating in Somali coastal waters are small artisanal fleets, made from fibre-reinforced plastic or wood. Somalia does not have any fishing vessels targeting tuna and tuna-like species in the Indian Ocean and as such, there are no Somali vessels in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Record of Authorized Vessels. The Somali artisanal fleet does not specialise in targeting tuna and tuna-like species and catch IOTC species on an opportunistic basis like many other artisanal fisheries of the Indian Ocean.