Somalis and UN officials say ships from places such as China and Taiwan have been dumping toxic waste in the unprotected waters off the coast.
Ships from around the world also have been illegally fishing the seafood-rich waters.
"This is one of the five best fishing areas in the world according to World Bank studies, but it's being looted by pirates who are taking advantage of our national tragedy because we can't protect our coastline," says Gen. Mohammed Abshir, a top official in the Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), the leading political faction in Bosaso, which has become a major point of entry for goods into Somalia.
UN officials verify ships from China, the Philippines, Spain, and Russia have been heavily fishing the area.
Somali leaders in the northeast region say that 300 to 500 vessels appear along their 800-mile section of coast during a season, and that the fleets also include trawlers from other European countries, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Yemen, and Pakistan.
(Source: The Christian Science Monitor International.
10-20-1997, Post-US, Somalia Finds Many Cashi In on Chaos, by Ilene R. Prusher.
