The fishing town of Bander Beyla, on Somalia’s Puntland coast, has become a focal point of the renewed piracy crisis.
asserted
town → become → crisis
But beyond the hijackings and international security operations, residents are struggling to protect their livelihoods as fishing restrictions, arrests and surveillance reshape daily life.
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restrictions → struggle → life
Abdifatah Mohamed has spent 20 years fishing off Somalia’s coast.
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Mohamed → spend → coast
He began at 15, but says declining catches and foreign trawlers have made it increasingly difficult to support his family.
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it → begin → family
“I don’t catch as much fish anymore, and the prospects for catching lobsters have become rare,” the 35-year-old said.
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old → catch → lobsters
“Foreign trawlers are emptying out the seas,” he added.
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he → empty → seas
Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991, weakening maritime oversight and leaving its waters vulnerable to illegal fishing.
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government → collapse → fishing
Some fishermen, angered by foreign vessels exploiting the country’s resources, have turned to piracy.
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fishermen → anger → piracy
“We’re [fishermen] no match for the foreign trawlers, who possess capabilities far greater than us, which impacts the livelihoods of our families on land,” Mohamed said.
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Mohamed → ’re → land
He added, “Some from our community have taken up arms at sea, but deep down I know it’s hurting our community.”
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it → add → community
A community caught in the crackdown
Piracy has surged off Somalia since late April 2026.
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community → catch → April
The reported number of hijackings varies according to whether counts include commercial ships, fishing vessels and dhows.
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counts → vary → ships
Several seized vessels have been held near Bander Beyla, bringing the crisis close to the town’s fishing community.
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vessels → seize → community
In late August, local authorities restricted fishermen from going to sea amid concerns that pirates were disguising themselves as fishermen.
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pirates → restrict → fishermen
“The local authorities gave an order the last week of August preventing us from going out at sea, which would remain in effect for two months,” Mohamed said.
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Mohamed → give → months
“Our families depend on what we catch at sea.
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we → depend → sea
Even though our catches [of fish] have gone down in recent years, it helped provide for our families at home.
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it → go → home
But it’s like we were being punished for crimes we have nothing to do with, and our families have suffered for it.
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families → ’ → it
For fishermen, Mohamed said, going to sea has become a risk whether they obey the restrictions or defy them.
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they → say → them
“It’s a two-way risk, because if the authorities know you went out to sea, they could accuse you of piracy or even transporting supplies to the ships that were hijacked,” he noted.
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he → ’ → ships
“While out at sea, you could face arrest or violence from international navies, and get mistaken for pirates, and taken away to a jail in a foreign land.
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you → face → land
It’s happened to a lot of men from this town.”
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It → happen → town
Abdirizak Said, who has fished in Bander Beyla for 15 years, said the crackdown has deepened the hardship faced by residents.
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crackdown → fish → residents
“Dozens have been arrested, most of them after they brought food or khat to the pirates, when the ships were anchored near Bander Bayla,” he said.
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he → arrest → Bayla
“Businesses and stores were even ordered by the [local] government not to sell anything to pirates, and if they do, they’ll be viewed as pirates themselves.”
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they → order → pirates
Some of the people involved in the hijackings come from the same town now bearing the consequences.
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Some → involve → consequences
“Some of the pirates involved in the hijackings are from Bander Bayla and hail from this community,” Said added.
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Said → involve → community
Jethro Norman, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), said that piracy cannot be understood solely as a criminal activity at sea.
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piracy → say → sea
It also depends on networks on land that can provide money, equipment, manpower and protection.
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that → depend → money
“Kinship networks can effectively function as a form of financial and social infrastructure, and for piracy, this is no different,” he said.
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he → function → piracy
“Pirate groups have historically been able to mobilise credit, and get equipment, manpower and protection.”
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groups → mobilise → equipment
“In other words, clan relationships can underwrite the practical resources and act of mobilising that make piracy possible.
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piracy → underwrite → resources
This is precisely why effective counter piracy requires understanding the land-based networks that make those operations possible,” Norman added.
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Norman → require → networks
These networks also help explain why efforts to disrupt piracy reach into ordinary commercial life.
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efforts → help → life
Said noted that the consequences extend beyond fishing: boats carrying supplies from Yemen to Somalia have stopped arriving, for instance.
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boats → note → instance
“The boats that used to bring supplies from Yemen have also ceased, because of these [pirate] attacks,” he said.
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he → use → attacks
Residents push back
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Residents → push → ?
Despite the disruption, Mohamed said that some residents have tried to prevent young men from joining the attacks.
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residents → say → attacks
“Recently there was an attempt by local youth with guns trying to go out at sea, but the residents told them not to do it and that they would be harming their community even more,” Mohamed said.
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Mohamed → be → community
“It was civilians that took the initiative to stop them and not the government because it’s the civilians in this town that will suffer the blowback if they launch attacks from here,” he added.
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he → take → attacks
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
