Large amounts of waste enveloping and dumped in the sea must have, as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud mentioned today before the Parliament of Somalia, greatly constrained the oil exploration efforts in the area.
The president insisted that waste removal from the sea is the huge hurdle posed for oil exploration and that awareness of decisions made has provided a considerable threat with regard to the matter.
“And we have had footage of environmental pollution and the manner in which it has been removed. Most of this so-called waste is not the chemical pollutants and toxins that we’ve expressed our concern over, but basically fishing gear abandoned in the sea, including nets and such that have lost connectivity,” he said.
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud mentioned that most of the waste is due to the abandoned fishing equipment for which there is a global prohibition. However, if foreign vessels are passing, they abandon this equipment.
“The reason is this: when a vessel fishes, they must take the fish to international ports. This type of fishing gear cannot be taken to international ports as it is banned from fishing. That is why it remains abandoned in our waters-to avoid detection of illegal fishing,” he added.
“This problem is quite painful… it’s not only that these people are taking our resources; they are also polluting our sea and harming our ecosystem.”
On the other hand, the president mentioned the current work and that the oil agreement with Turkey is still moving on, bounding with an exploration of oil drilling efforts.
Meanwhile, Somalia is set to exploit its resources and has signed investment treaties with powerful countries.