Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden , Guardafui Channel , and Somali Sea , in Somali territorial waters and other surrounding places and has a long troubled history with different perspectives from different communities. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels during the early s, only to rapidly escalate and expand to international shipping during the War in Somalia β Somali waters have high fisheries production potential, but the sustainability of those fisheries is compromised by the presence of foreign fishing vessels, many of them fishing illegally.
The Somali domestic fishing sector is small and poorly developed, whereas foreign vessels have fished in Somali waters for at least seven decades. Some foreign vessels and their crew have been viewed by Somali artisanal fishers as a threat to their traditional livelihoods. Many foreign vessels directly compete for fish, reducing fish populations and destroying marine habitat through bottom trawling.
Somalia was designated as a failed state in , [ 8 ] with extensive internal conflicts and major instability continuing until , when the Federal Government of Somalia was established, which despite the intervention and support of foreign forces, could not fully establish its authority with threats from jihadist group al-Shabaab , so Somalia remained characterised as a fragile state.
This disorder meant there was no longer effective government policing of Somali waters by the Somali Navy , a weakness then exploited by often large foreign fishing boats, further threatening the livelihoods of local Somali fishing communities. They in part responded by forming armed groups to deter what they perceived as invaders. These groups, using small boats such as skiffs and motorised boats, would sometimes hold vessels and crew for ransom.
This practice grew into a lucrative trade, where large ransom payments were demanded and often paid. These groups were then considered to be pirates, especially after they began hijacking non-fishing commercial vessels. With the region badly affected by poverty and government corruption , there was little political motivation at the local level to deal with the crisis. Large numbers of unemployed Somali youth began to see it as a means of making money.
