Tuna Wars

For starters, I'm glad Captain Phillips was rescued and that his ship and crew weren't hijacked. In a violent and life-threatening confrontation, both the victims and the U.S. Navy acted appropriately, and really in the only way they could have.

Having said that, it might behoove us to ask why there's this sudden spike in piracy around the Horn of Africa, and whether there might be a better way to deal with it in the long term. On Saturday, Associated Press reporter Todd Pitman filed an article explaining in brief how Somalis' subsistence fishing, the only livelihood available to many of those impoverished people, was destroyed, and how the fishermen, who began by trying to defend their living against encroachment from those richer and more powerful then themselves, gradually evolved from victims into predators.

...Somalia has suffered nearly 20 years of anarchy, chaotically ruled by rival clans backed by pickup trucks mounted with anti-aircraft guns. Its nominal government controls barely a few blocks.

With no coast guard to defend its shores, Somalis began complaining that vessels from Asia and Europe were dumping toxic waste in their waters and illegally scooping up red snapper, barracuda and tuna. The rampant illegal fishing began destroying the livelihoods of local fishermen.

According to a memo prepared last month by the staff of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, Somali clans began resorting "to armed gangs in an attempt to stop the foreign vessels. Over time, these gangs have evolved into hijacking commercial vessels for ransom as an alternative source of income."

Besides reminding me of the reasons for the florescence of piracy in the Atlantic during the early 18th century -- the desperate poverty of the lower classes in England, driven off the land by "enclosure" (sheep ranching), and the draconian conditions of service in the English and continental navies -- the rise of Somali piracy begs the question, "Aren't we shooting at the wrong people?"

Maybe we should be aiming our torpedoes at Japanese factory-fishing vessels in those waters instead. Chasing them out of the Gulf of Alaska wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I'm not saying the people running the "vessels from Asia and Europe" cited in Pitman's story are evil, or that they intended to destroy subsistence fishing in Somalia. But the fact is, when we who are so wealthy, drive our marvelous cars, trucks, and buses over the river and through the woods, we're not even aware of the violent deaths of half the little creatures we crush as we proceed on our merry way.

The painting, "Tuna Fishing," is by Salvador Dali. Click on the image for a larger view.

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