For several months, from the Seychelles Islands to the Somali coast, Olivier Joulie went to meet fishing bosses, soldiers and even pirates... His very detailed investigation betrays the disarray that reigns in a region where fish catches are multiplying hostages.
Covering two million square kilometers, from the Indian Ocean to the Gulf of Aden, the area has become one of all dangers. In 2009, more than two hundred ships were victims of acts of piracy there. Giant oil tankers, cruise ships or fishing boats, no building is safe. In Port Victoria, the crews of Spanish tuna boats do not hide their concern. Barring a miracle, they will have to rely only on themselves to repel the pirate attacks. This is no longer the case for their French colleagues. The owners of the nine fishing boats engaged in the region ended up putting their hands in their pockets. For an amount estimated at 2.5 million euros, they now ensure the presence on board of around sixty marines.
Men ready for anything
In order to secure the region, Europe set up Operation Atalanta in 2008. A device engaging frigates and patrol aircraft. Protection considered, by many, insufficient. Especially since, entering Somalia, and particularly in Puntland, Olivier Joulie realizes that the lure of profit is pushing more and more Somalis towards delinquency. They sometimes obtain millions of euros to free the ships they have taken control of. The causes of the explosion of this maritime crime are crystal clear for Sayid Aden Cade, the mayor of the village of Hobyo: "Intensive fishing by large foreign boats destroys wildlife. They draw on our natural resources and the fish are gradually disappearing . Our fishermen, with their simple nets, do not have the means to fight and they are becoming more and more poor..." No reason in sight for the pirates to soon put away their skiffs and their Kalashnikovs...
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