Somali Fair Fishing

About us

What is Somali Fair Fishing?

Somali Fair Fishing is an independent Danish-Somali NGO. We are a hands-on project, building up a local fishing industry in Somaliland. Our aim is to contribute to the stabilization of the country through prevention of piracy and mitigation of unemployment and poverty. In the waters off the Horn of Africa, there are a lot of fish, but very little fishing. A local fishing industry can create new jobs and offer an alternative to piracy, unemployment and poverty.
Somali Fair Fishing is fish for peace and prosperity.

What’s happening in 2013?

Right now this year we are carrying out our initial “Proof of Concept Phase” with the following goal: To establish a secure a stable fishery infrastructure based in Berbera in Somaliland with a consistent value chain from “sea to table”, catching, landing, handling, treating and offsetting a catch of one tonne of fish per day for a month in the autumn of 2013. If we succeed with that, the next step will be scaling and consolidation. We have people and equipment on the ground in Somaliland working every day. Follow us on facebook.

Who are we?

Somali Fair Fishing is a Danish-Somali NGO founded in oktober 2011, but built on an idea by the Danish journalist Jakob Johannsen, who worked on the project from 2008 until he died in may 2012. The group of participants has been gradually extended with needed professional specialists in order to cover a broad range of required competences: a fisher (who is an expert in building similar projects in Asia and Africa), Somalies in Denmark (with knowledge and contacts in Somaliland), a Rear Admiral (with knowledge of counter piracy and maritime security), a former CEO and shipowner (with sense of business and experience in piracy related hostage negotiations), skilled experts in development aid, including a former UNICEF Head of Office in East Africa (with an extended national and international network), political strategists etc.

What about the local community?

Most important for the SFF project is local support, ownership and participation. The local community will only be engaged if they can see actual short term results like proper jobs and money. That's why the SFF project don’t care about process, but is executed like a flexible “keep-it-simple” business-plan, striving for quick results.

Will piracy ever be eradicated?

We believe so, but it requires a comprehensive approach where you engage a broad range of tools. You need to address piracy like you fight gang-criminality in major metropols: Police force cannot do the job alone, neither can warships. You need in addition an effective juridical system, you need to follow the criminal money to get to the profiteers and last but not least, you need the social worker to create a viable alternative to criminality and this is where SFF have an impact on the overall counter piracy efforts. Our small project can contribute to the creation of a viable alternative to criminal coastal activities like piracy. The solution to piracy lies onshore.

Organization

The Board has the determining influence and is a guarantor of fairness and integrity in all matters relating to Somali Fair Fishing. Bindslev Next Step funds the secretariat of Somali Fair Fishing.

Members of the board

• Per Gullestrup, Chairman, former CEO and shipowner
• Mahad Farah Aden, Vice Chairman and treasurer, intern treasurer in Danmarks Nationalbank
• Claus Bindslev, Vice Chairman, stategic advisor, owner and CEO at Bindslev NextStep
• Knud Vilby, journalist and author, skilled expert in development aid
• Said Hussein, Head of the Danish-Somali Association
• Nils Wang, Rear Admiral
• Christian Balslev-Olesen, former UNICEF Representative to Somalia and Eritrea, Director of The Danish House in Palestine, based in Ramallah