Somalia Fisheries: Untapped Potential Held Back By Skills Shortage

Somalia is endowed with diverse and rich fisheries resources thanks to its highly productive coastal and upwelling systems. The national fisheries sector is still underdeveloped but is nevertheless very important as it provides food, livelihood, income and employment opportunities for over 400,000 Somalis who directly or indirectly engage in various activities in the fisheries value chain and related services.

Although the sector has seen significant growth over the last 30 years, both in terms of fish production and fisher population, its overall contribution to the national economy is still very small compared to the contributions of agriculture and livestock. However, it has the potential to be one of the largest and most profitable fisheries in the world if fully developed, considering that the current annual catches represent only a small fraction of the country’s estimated fishery production potential of over 800,000 tons per year

A country’s level of socio-economic development is correlated with the quality and quantity of its human resources.

In Somalia, where more than three decades of instability depleted the nation’s skilled workforce, the need to develop robust human capital cannot be overstressed.

As the country stabilises and becomes more peaceful, the demand for trained manpower to spearhead recovery and reconstruction efforts will increase, further exacerbating existing skills shortages and gaps in many sectors of the economy.

This study assesses the current status of the fisheries sector. It looks at: existing skills development initiatives and their relevance to the needs of the sector; local institutions of higher learning and the quality of their fisheries-related academic programs; other providers of training relevant to fisheries; the job readiness of local graduates; and challenges affecting human capital development in this sector

The study employed a combination of techniques to collect qualitative and quantitative data including key informant interviews (KIIs), focus group discussions (FGDs), observations and self-administered questionnaires. The study conducted a total of 16 KIIs and 14 FGDs involving 107 individuals selected to represent a wide range of stakeholders in the fisheries sector and academia.

The key findings of the study are:

• While the fisheries sector is underdeveloped at present, it nevertheless supports over 400,000 Somalis who depend upon it for their livelihoods, income and employment.
• The contribution of the sector to the national economy is tiny (around two percent of gross domestic product) but it has the potential to be one of the largest and most profitable fisheries in the world if fully developed.
• Domestic fish production is exclusively based on the artisanal fisheries sub-sector since industrial catches are not landed in Somalia.
• The industrial sub-sector is dominated by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which costs the country hundreds of millions of dollars each year in lost revenue.
• Within the artisanal fisheries sub-sector, there are three major fisheries (lobster, shark and fin-fish) of which the fin-fish fishery is the largest in terms of production, employment opportunities and revenue generation.
• Challenges facing the sector include: poor infrastructure; inadequate cold chain facilities and onshore support services; limited access to international markets; lack of reliable data and nationwide data collection system; IUU fishing and unsustainable exploitation of resources; lack of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) capability; the absence of sector-oriented policies and strategies; weak institutional and legal frameworks; acute shortage of skilled manpower; and limited investment.

Prior to the civil war, Somalia was able to produce a sufficient supply of job-ready, properly trained graduates with the skills and knowledge required for the maritime and fisheries sectors.

The civil war and the ensuing periods of instability disrupted formal education, training and other skills development programs, curtailing the country’s ability to meet its human resources requirements

Renewed interest from investors and development partners is expected to keep the sector’s growth on an upward trajectory over the medium to long term.