SANA'A Jan 08. 2024 (Saba) - After nine years of aggression and systematic targeting of Yemeni fishermen and the killing and wounding of hundreds of them, American military movements in the Red Sea have returned to receive serious consequences for fishermen who are already suffering from a decline in their activities and whose boats, equipment and infrastructure in general have been damaged by the aggression against Yemen.
The fish sector has suffered many losses, depletion and serious deterioration over the past years as a result of the aggressive actions carried out by the countries of the US-Saudi-UAE Aggression Coalition against this vital economic sector and its workers.
Since 2015, Yemen's water and maritime wealth have been transformed into an arena for the tampering and looting of commercial and military vessels involved in the aggression against Yemen, which prevented tens of thousands of fishermen from doing business after their boats were destroyed and thousands of families living in coastal areas were abandoned from their villages.
Fishermen's boats have also turned into targets of aggression coalition aircraft and boats, causing the majority of fishermen to stop fishing, resulting in a decline in fish production since 2015 to 60 thousand tons per year, after reaching more than 235 thousand and 500 tons in 2013, thus accelerating the breakdown of living conditions of a large segment of Yemenis.
Not only did the aggression States carry out attacks on fishermen's boats in Yemen's waters and coasts, commit the most heinous massacres against them, detain, kidnap and torture many of them in brutal ways, and contravene international and humanitarian treaties and instruments, but also destroyed and contaminated the coasts and islands of Yemen, their coral reefs and the maritime environment, the protection of dozens of giant vessels to scoop fish and marine life in dangerous and illegal ways has led to the disappearance of some rare fish species and has become a real threat to fish stocks and the marine environment.
Apart from directly targeting fishermen at sea and preventing them from penetrating into Yemeni waters where fish are available in large quantities, the aggression States are shovelling and looting fish stocks, which continue in the waters adjacent to southern and eastern governorates such as Mahra, Hadramaut and Socotra.
The statistics indicate that more than 30 thousand fishermen, like them, are employed in the fish sector, lost their sources of income or were damaged by the aggression against Yemen, which caused the destruction of hundreds of fishermen's boats on the coasts of Hodeida, Hajjah and other areas of the Red Sea in addition to this, the extraordinary losses resulting from the interruption of fisheries projects, The illegal and unjust fishing of large regional and international fishing vessels and vessels engaged in or supporting Yemen's aggression.
Statistics from the Ministry of Fisheries in recent years have estimated the fish sector's losses as a result of aggression and blockade at more than $7 billion and $500 million, including $13 million in fisheries infrastructure losses and $5.2 million in boats and destroyed equipment losses, the country is depriving it of $192 million annually due to the interruption of fishery production and exports", as well as project interruption losses estimated at $9.7 million.
While Yemeni fishermen in the Red Sea have barely breathed a sigh of relief over the years of aggression, recent military movements of what has come to be known as the American Alliance for the Protection of Israeli Vessels have restored tension to fishing grounds for western Yemeni fishermen, for fishermen in the western Yemeni governorates, such as Al-Hudaydah, Hajjah, and the areas of Al-Mokha, Dhubab, and Bab Al-Mandab.
As a result, fishermen are facing serious difficulties in accessing fishing areas owing to the recent gravity of the situation in view of the proliferation of battleships and warships in Red Sea waters, especially after recently targeting Yemeni naval forces' boats while on duty in territorial waters.
In this context, observers considered the attack on Yemeni naval boats by United States aircraft to be an extension of previous crimes committed in the same manner in previous years by the US-led coalition of aggression that led to the martyrdom of dozens of Yemeni fishermen in the Red Sea.
In view of these developments, the Ministry of Fisheries in Sana 'a last Monday issued a statement condemning the aggressive American moves threatening maritime security and the activity of Yemeni fishermen in the territorial waters of the Republic of Yemen, the US Coalition for the Protection of Israeli Vessels uses force and threat through its warships to prevent Yemeni fishermen from exercising their legitimate right to fish, thereby threatening their lives and livelihoods.
Turning to the difficult and tragic conditions of some 30,000 Yemeni fishermen who depend on fishing as their source of basic income, as a result of the ongoing violations and abuses they are subjected to by the forces and vessels of aggression against Yemen. Confirmed that these hostile practices in Yemen's territorial waters constitute a flagrant violation of international law and human rights and have catastrophic effects on the reality of fishermen, the security and integrity of marine life and the environment.
The Ministry reiterated the foreign forces' involvement in the depletion and looting of fish stocks, numerous violations and arrests of fishermen in territorial waters, resulting in a reduction in stocks and fishermen's wages during the years of aggression.
The statement called for the immediate cessation of such practices and the protection of fishermen's rights, and called on the international community and human rights organizations to condemn and take action to halt violations of Yemeni fishermen, thereby ensuring the safety of fishermen, enabling them to fish and restoring their livelihoods threatened by foreign vessels.
In the past years, aggression States have intensified their hostile operations in strategic fishing zones and converted a number of fish landing centres into military warehouses and sites, While throwing out various pollutants in Yemen's coasts and waters, the sector's losses were compounded by the death of huge quantities of fish and marine life, and its displacement from the coasts and fishing areas in Yemeni waters.
According to official estimates, losses from marine pollutants amounted to $420 million, while environmental damage to foreign fishing vessels amounted to $1.68 billion, as well as Yemen's denial of much revenue and fees, and the interruption of investment and service, development and industrial projects in the economic sector.
The fish sector is one of the hardest hit by the aggression and blockade against Yemen. However, the recent American escalation in the Red Sea could increase mud and threaten a new chapter of suffering for a large segment of Yemenis in coastal areas, which depend on fishing as a primary source of food and income.
Yemen has a long coastline of more than 2,500 kilometres and has abundant and diversified fisheries resources qualifies it to be one of the most prominent fish-producing countries in the event that this wealth is optimally exploited.
E.M
resource : Saba
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