Trade and ports
Fishing and the sea: Somalia's fisheries in numbers
Somalia has about 3,333 km of coast, the longest in mainland Africa. Fish exports were worth about $25.9 million in 2025 and about $145 million over five years, according to the Central Bank. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is estimated to cost the country about $300 million a year. In 2018 the federal government issued 31 tuna licences to Chinese longline vessels, its first foreign licences in over 20 years.
The coast and the catch
Somalia's coast is about 3,333 km long, the longest in mainland Africa, running from the Gulf of Aden to the Kenyan border. The Central Bank says the fishing industry has stayed small since the early 1990s. Small boats and industrial vessels supply fresh fish to local markets and for export (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).
Fish exports
- 2025: fish exports passed $25.86 million (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025).
- Five years to 2025: about $144.97 million of fish products were exported (same source).
- Higher sales of fish, meat and crops made up most of the fall in live animal exports in 2025 (same source). See Livestock exports.
- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry's export strategy put fish exports at about $15 million in 2023, about 2 percent of goods exports. It lists tuna, snapper, lobster and dried fish (Ministry of Commerce and Industry, National Export Development and Promotion Strategy, 2026).
Foreign licences
- December 2018: the federal government granted fishing rights to the China Overseas Fisheries Association, which represents 150 companies, under 31 tuna licences. A ministry adviser said waters up to 24 nautical miles (44 km) from shore were kept for local fishermen, and that the ministry could order ships into port for inspection (Garowe Online, 13 December 2018).
- January 2019: the UN described the 31 licences for Chinese longline vessels as the first foreign fishing licences in over 20 years, covering tuna and tuna-like species. The FAO, the Italian development agency and the World Bank had worked on the tuna deal since 2013 (UN Somalia, 7 January 2019).
- Who issues them. The federal government and the member states had not agreed how to share fishing revenue (Garowe Online, 2018). Puntland and Somaliland issue their own licences without the federal government (Daily Maverick, citing ISS Today, 13 March 2025).
Illegal fishing
- The cost. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing costs Somalia about $300 million a year, according to the Institute for Security Studies' ENACT programme (ENACT, Halkano Wario and Samira Abdi Aden, 20 January 2026).
- Who. ISS researchers name vessels from China, Iran, South Korea, Taiwan, Spain and other European countries. A Mogadishu researcher told them that the government rarely receives catch reports from licensed operators (Daily Maverick, 13 March 2025).
- Enforcement. Trawling is banned in federal territorial waters. A case backed by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime led to the arrest of 33 Iranian and Pakistani fishermen and fines totalling $356,000 (Daily Maverick, citing ISS Today, 4 February 2025).
The Turkey agreement
A memorandum signed in February 2024 makes the Turkish armed forces Somalia's partner in maritime security for 10 years. ISS researchers report that, under the deals, Turkey is to train Somali forces and should receive 30 percent of revenue from Somalia's exclusive economic zone (Daily Maverick, citing ISS Today, 13 March 2025).
Sources disagree
- The 24-mile zone in the China deal. Garowe Online quoted a ministry adviser saying waters up to 24 nautical miles were kept for local fishermen (Garowe Online, 2018). ISS researchers wrote that the December 2018 deal let Chinese companies fish within 24 nautical miles of the shore for $1 million (Daily Maverick, 4 February 2025).
For fishing firms, see the farming, livestock and fishing directory and Somali fishing companies. For Somalia's ports, see Somalia's seaports.
Sources
- Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025 · centralbank.gov.so
- Ministry of Commerce and Industry, National Export Development and Promotion Strategy, 2026 · moci.gov.so
- Garowe Online, 13 December 2018 · garoweonline.com
- UN Somalia, 7 January 2019 · somalia.un.org
- Daily Maverick, citing ISS Today, 13 March 2025 · dailymaverick.co.za
- ENACT, Halkano Wario and Samira Abdi Aden, 20 January 2026 · issafrica.org
- Daily Maverick, citing ISS Today, 4 February 2025 · dailymaverick.co.za
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Where this matters
- Muqdisho (Mogadishu) and BanaadirMogadishu (Muqdisho) is Somalia's capital and makes up the Banadir region, with about 2.97 million people in 20 districts.
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
- Boosaaso (Bosaso) and BariBari is Puntland's north-east region, with the port city of Bosaso (Boosaaso) as its capital and about 1.28 million people.
- Kismaayo (Kismayo) and Lower JubaLower Juba is the far southern region on the border with Kenya, with the port city of Kismayo (Kismaayo) as its capital and about 1.2 million people.
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