Fisheries Joint Venture Guidelines, 1985

SO~~I DEJ~OCRATIC REPUBLIC MDUSTffi.' OF FISHERIES & {..wITNE RESOURCES GUIDELUrrs FOR FISHERHS JOn-IT VEnTURE RITH FOREIGIT Y'i'..RI'l:::~F.S PARr I. PRELINIHARY Short Title: 1. This Guidelines may be cited as the Fisheries Joint Venture Guille lines, 1985. Interpretation: 2. I'Joint Venture" means a cooperation exercise between Somali and ~oreign investors set up for a specific fisheries business a limited time, temporarily pooline resources and skills , with risk be ar-i ng and risks talcl...nc by both parties; "Fish" means ~ aquatic animal, whether piscine or not and Lnc Iudang; meLl.uao , crustacean. shellfish. sponge coral and the young and. eces thereof; "Fishing' means fishiIl& for catchiIl&a. taking or killing fish by arw method, includes att'empting to oatch, take or kill fish by &ry methodj ''Fishine Vessel" means a vessel used for fishing and. operated for finanoial reward to other material gain, soientific research or processing, storage or oarriage of fish, and inoludes aoy vessel used in support of or ancillarY to fishing operations but does not include a vessel tranaportinB fish of fish products as part of its eeneral cargo; "Foreign fish.ing vessel" means a fishil'lg vessel ther than a lo cal fishing vessvl i ''Fishing Licence" means a licence granted UJld3r this 8\lidelines; "Letter of Intent" means a. letter issued by the authorized Govern ment agency to ag:ree .in issuing licenoe when the provisional con:: di.tiona in the letter are tulf'iled;, ~ , 'UDeputyfl means a. fiaheriesof'fioer aPPoimed .or· delegated. the power to give' licence far the Minister; . . ' / IlLocal fishi%1B' ves8'~ltl meens .e:rr:l t"ish1nc vessel: . . i.., : " -., ~ ....J> '" .: • •• • ,",' • . .' .: .. (a) 'liho1ly,~wned.bY~<o~" sooiety or ~r·;e.a8ociation o:f peraonB';,·eStablished.:umer:.the law 01" Somalf-Democratic Bepublic!~SDRlto~i~.~e-red';~'!liSclmaJ.ia.umerJ~he·)Law';of , SDRj': . (b)::}~iJ~'l~ed'::bY~~o~Jor,:' inore':pe:"S(#1SJ!.trd1O.;·~ar.Et.~pi tizena)iof . .':::>.;.~.~~ai ,(e.:") :.~.~ii;t:wned.EbVW,a~j'·tatUto. .'l.!CO·· .··ra.tion·~~st8bllBhe~~er; ..... ".t\{),i', ... , '~-;~~t' "~ .~ l"3i.,. ~ . "'(1 .... :~~~;"~~O~~~R"~ .' ·;:~~~~'lo~:.~~ ~:!'~til~,'f!::.·~~-(l ~~·'i:t"i6·. iidl~.~·;,1;=~~fdi8t~~W~·Jp~]l~mx1 W~i8ht:i~~~~~r~;~ill~; t~~{m~~~~,~t 2 1I~1ini.ster" means the member 01 the Ccb i ne't to whom r-cspons i bility for tl~ subject of fisheries "3 ~siD1ed; "Observer" moans a. person npI: »i.rrt ed by the r·linister or his deputy for the purposo of monitorinc the ope r-at i.on of foreicn fishinc vessels licenced under this (~delinesj "the Somali Haters" means th~ area of water proclaimed from time to time to be the exclusive econcmi c zone of SDR (200 miles from the coast al, Li.ne at present - 1905); "Vessel" includes <l shd.p, boat , raft, bar[;"O, flout, liGhter or hovercraft; "Optimum utilizationll means, ,rith respect to the field f'r-orn any fishery I the amounts f fish that will be produced from the fishclj." the maximum sustaine.b :.e yield as qualif'ied by a:rry relevant biolo eical, economic, environmental or social fectors r and takine into account fishine pa;t;terns, the interdependence of stocks of fish, the need to &Void over-fishini:; c: nd ;my eenerall,Y accepted sub-re Gional, rerrional. or global fish:.IJ(j ste.nd.ard. PART II. GENERAL LICENCllW pt:. ISIOnS Type of Joint Ven ture 3. Joint Venture shall be classified as: (1) A company, society or other association of persons. establi shed with Somali partner ir.vesting more than fifty per cent of the whole joint venture oapitals included wor~ capital for the operations and the fiXed oapitals 'for allpbysical asset whether or not it is loan capital, and all the proper ties registered in Serr lie. under the Laws of SDR.· ~~ (2) A company, society or other association of peraons establi shed for the purpose o; installil16' fish processing fe.cili ties exii/or ohe.rterine of· vessels for the purposo of export . ing their produots and' impor.to.tion of fishiDB' equipment and. supplies required inch.ding fishing ~a.r. Application for tBteblishment of Joint Ven tUre 4. An application for joint venture egreeme~ is to be made in the prescribed form wth the followine documents e.ddressed. to the Minister: (1 ) Capital investment :and equ1t3' shere plan by .;b,oth: parties for fixed asset withinver.':ories:&d for wo~~,,:,o~itals. (2) Drn1't articles 'of ,:Join' Ye~ ~i\~~~i~i;~,O;t:,othe,r.. OBsociation 'of p~rs-ons~\'::HeDd,.Offioe, ':.~o1~;-~~~~~::per1~1 purpose e.:n, ectiv1~ies~)stBf~>organ1zet1on":bY;j'~~i.~naJ.it~; ~~p~:m~ibl.lity; o~ ':~ .~~e~,,:st~~ raoc~,iy~.~.8'!:'l~,ting~ system;produotl.on ,of 'JL::.nt venture financial::statements' :U~ 'cludi%iG balnnccsheets,'aitd..profit and loss'i:'aceoUnts', plan 10,000' tons 30' 000 'tons. J. . 39.,()Q() tons ,500 tonS 500 1;ons (tuna, bo~t9, skipjack, .. 3~OOO'.tons Limi.t ation for optimum utilization 5. 3 of profit distribution and rescrve3, a ~:18C\.!1 of Gottir...,,", ruw d.i.aput e , etc. (3) Joi~ Venture Operation pl~.; (~) For fishi~ operation, kind and o i zo of boat a to be usod , Composition of crow by title, nct Lonal i t y and cnmli fication, Type and. size of fishi!\.1' [,oem- and met hod.s to ice used, FishiI1(J bose and fishinc f..>Tou:nds/are~, Fishinc period and fidhinc days , Kind of fish to be ccuaht f Operations unit (Fleetts composition, f2Cilitics, infrnstruoture) , . Estimated catch, Processing and marketin& of catch, Est imation of opera.tional. cost and Lncome , Vessel's repair, ~ocld..ne, bunker-ing, crew's provisions, fishiIl8' (SGBr supply pI........ (b) For processing ani markatine operaiion, Details of plants, facilities and equipment and their estimated costs, Ste.ff organization, Fish purohasi~ and oolleotion plan, Processing ani qua.lity control plan, Fish marketinc plan -domes"' 1C market and export markets by type of prOOessi. ,. and expected prices. (4) .Place .of traini.ng of Somali emI lOJ .3es and staff replacement. When the estimated catch total by" 1dJ:ld of of'ish by" Somt>~i fisher men and. joint venture oper~tion reach to the fo1lowina quantity or a sign ofoverf'ishi.Dg is observOd, or envisaged to reach with in the fi.shi.ng' efi"orts' by already operational fleet, a:rT3'., new joint venture applioation vill not be aoceptod~ (a) Small peiS{;io species (sardine,' harrine. small ma.ok:erel, '.eto.) .' ;~ :. '.' (b) Larue'peiSgio spocies .: k:i.n« mackerels) (O)Ix;~~'Dj\~iiili:'·(~t·snap~r.seabreer.l, .:.'r··'crea.~fisl1t':f;;so8.renecr~\.etc~l: v ••• . >'..\~~... ~ ~\""'/~ , '.'-" .. ' .• -, .• (d) .'·S~kS~·~!(~~·t . ." .r- - ~~4:;. .. · ,." .• 1 (e)' ·.~~t;!ri:a~)i.'~b~t~~:;·amr:ehrlmp '.' '·'-"·"""~·".~)(loo"'.··".' .. ·.'.·... '·!\.·r,l.i.itt: ·.Y\y,~' .... (fLs!1illo\;' ;a.t~~;~h6bs:t'e;1' l?csourccs Protection RestricJ"iol1 of Fishinc c..rea by size of vessels Prohibited Methods of Fishine .:, 6. For protcction of cncl..:.:;'.ccrocl sp;Jci 0~, LC ::01'con is a l Ioi..ed tDkiI1(\, ki1linc, selline or pr-occuc i iv: fCr.12.1c turtle in the s ca within any r-eef' or wit hi.n 1 km of tho hi(;h w2.ter mar-k of the somc.Li. shorc , 0:- to t ckc or s011i:-(; :'..I1j' turtle GG~-s after they have been Lafd and buz-r i c.I, or any s ea turtle weichtinG' 7 lee unless otherwiso ,...ut hor-i sed by t!1C l-linistry for soientific pur-poco , For resources r:1~:,,\::;cr:1cnt of Sha.lloH W2.ter spiny lobsters, no per-sen is a.l Lowcd to.k:in~~, killinc, selli.nc or processil1('; spiny lobster viCi,::htinC 460 crc.ms (or tail weicht of "120 cr), 01' ,,'i-ell t>.e g;l'ctchec.. lel\..-rth from eye to tcil and mo~urir:c 23 en or less, or f'erna.Ie lob stcr c<'...rryiI1C' casso Closed lobster fis~u..'C seel~j"onwill-be---'-­ set from 16th Murch t2..j5t.h ~'l.u:;t, subject to C~lC '1{:C by Yee.r, startinc from 19[;6 season, 1.Vessels of 18m LOA and Move cannot cc:rry out a:ny fishine within 5 miles of the hiGh water mark of the Somali shore. O.l·lhoevcr; (e) usir~ ~ explosive, poison, or other noxio~~ substance for the purpose of ld.llil:g, stunnine, dise.hilinc or catch iD8' fish. or in MY W<:J(f renderil'lC' fish more easily c~t, or , (c) has in hie- p..session or control mry explosive. -poison or other ncxi ons substance in circumstances indicatine an intention of using such explosive, poinson or other noxfcns substence for any of the purposes referred to in the pre ceed pare(jraph, -is GUilty of ~1 offence. catching apiI\Y lobster by usir.C aqUDJ-:Idl1& or similar device or trammel net is prOhibitedo :0" ) Licence Subjoct to conditicro 10.Liconccs is:mcLl urrlcr- t hic Gu.idcline s~C'.ll JO cub jccf to G'J.C!1 condit i.ons c.:J r.l<:;y be prcscr-i.bcd , or <'.3 r.q be othorwicc endor sed upon such liccncc by the r-lilUGtcr or his deputy, and such condi t Lons r.lr;y LncLudo 2J1Y or cll of the follo\rinc: (n) the cr-ea in Hhich operation/fism.l\?: is eirthori.acd ; (b) the pcr-iod durinc which. ope:::'ation/fifJhir~ is e.uthorizcdj (c) the species, size, sex and quent i t i es of fish th~t racy be t aken; (d) the no t hOM by whi ell fish rney be t aken i (e) the types ,size and amount of fishine CeC'.I' that may be used by t!le fis11il10' vessel; (f) sta.tisticcl and otller information required to be Given by the r.laster of the fi~hine vessels or by the operator(s) of the joint ventur-e company I society or other association of ~ons to the Mimster or his deputy, includine statis tics rcl2.tine to catch and effort, and. reports as to the position of vessels and fishine and sea conditions, or disposal, proce ssine and ffia.!'ketiIl6 informatiollS i (c;) the narldnc of the vessels and other means foz' its identi fic~tioni (h) such other terms and. conditiona as the Minister or his deputy mn:y consider necessary or expedient : -;r conserva. tion management end development of fishing - .sources of Somalia; entry by foreien fishi1l{! vessels to Somali ports, whether for inspection of fishing gear of catch, landine of catch, or axlY other purpose i " the reportin<; of the~osition,-ce.tch by species, weather and sea conditiona,etceg o~-the fishine vess"ela daly by rmio or monthly in pre-aITa1J6ed form to the Minister- or his deputy; " the cerrieee on board o£ specified communication, saf'ety or ne.vieationalequipment, publications or: instruments i . " "-. >,f .~., i. " . ' ......~..... , :..~:. :-.~~~~~':. ';;... the traininc o£ citizens ~ Somella in the:niethoda~~ot 0-0 fishil'lRor "oporation:employ:ea.by ~the-jd)int'~:ve~\'Compan;ye (k) (1) , (j) Verificetion ot competence o£ f~icrn,' partrier11.The"expected~,foreiB'iitjiOrl:riOr;ShOUld.'isUbUd t~to\tlie111oen:eirig :eut.hori~~ooa. ' coW'; o£.:~~~tlie~ica:~e~ :~e-iStrto~ot;-t~~~;:'i:ri ~~7;~~~i:Jt1Jm~::~~~tr:k~\~t;;~~~~1 zteChriic:a.tToePebiii~~i'M'ltWclLaa~paSt:fCixpCrience~osililbe i:·sub ,lUi.tted~ ° , • •• Letter of Intent Temporary Fishing Licence To observe ;'~Law 6 A bank: eua"a.ntooa cover-ing shar-e of f'oz-o i gn partners investment shall be i .sued ani subnritted. ,In case of doubt, t.he embaasy of the foreicn partner m8iY be requested to attest. 12.'r1hen the q)plication for an. joint venture lioence together with all the necessar,y docum4nts is received and concluded by the Ministry that ,the plan is economically sound and practicable, beneficial for the oountryCs economy and its opera.tion is un harmful to the marine r-esources protection and. will not con flict ,with the somali traditicnal fishermen, a letter of In tentlnS\f be Biven to allow the lioence to initiate preparatory work. " 13.If it deemed. necessary a temporary fishiI'~ licence to start, surveyor experimental fishi;ng IlU\Y be issued for the operating , period of three months or less on submission of the following document to the Minister or his deputy: " ' ( A copy of' vessels t registration doc~nt to verifY:;ownez ship, gross to~, netto~, lin1cth, ene{ne ~: ,power, port of registry. fish hold 9~11~;ity~' ,:p:,:' (2), In caso',if,·the name,'ot;'-th~?~ssels',.::~Wri~fShipis' dii.i~re~~ fromeither ''Of",~ose.:~';::the,.;joint ve~~)~iJ~"ner8 ,:;~;:P~pY~ ,otauthentioated' ~~~'aereement,be'twsenthevessels~.' '':owner·8D:1.the;:'J,oint~:Ye~·::party~· , ,"'" .., ";" -,,', :';". ,,' .... ,., . : . , " (3) ~ net iiiielf,creW's .~J.1st~· • -' • '," ~ e,. " #. ~. ,'" v • :,":":, ," - ", ",' "'~' ",. t.'~ ,-J,~, .•. :J..... .... ',' .,..- -"~'''''' ... ,'. -. ,'" '1)ur.l.:ng':;1.~ds perioo:,!·.-t¥>t.emporary •f'iahi:ng'.licence ,:ree~:~~L . be (..~at 'atixOd:J:'a:~e.es:prescri~ed:,inthis': 6iiid.~l:ti1e:•.~ 7 (b) the (,pE:I'2.tion in l'0S:)CCt of i::li. ch the licence has been i13s1:"Hl has been used corrt rrwcnt Lon of thi::; Guidelines or any condf,t.i.onc of the licence. Terms end non-transfor ability of licences 17.(1) unless earlier ccncol Led in a cco rdzince with Section 11, a licence shall be va.Li.d for 0.. period not more than one year, subject to yea:.'ly e:(~ension on appli.cat i.on for the pla.'1I' '3d period! (2) no licence ~l,-c..!.).. be tr::nsfcr<::01c e:~':::cp~ Hith' the wri ttcn permissicn of, -:;h'3 IliniS"~o:L' or l:.is deputy r:hich is to be e~orsed'u!?o:lsuch liceZlce" in WoE shal l, be a ccnd.itiO!l of J~::'3 Li.cence that a copy of t4e licence shalI be carried or' boez-d any licenced fishiDg' ves sel or.in opera~ion site, and. made availa't>le to any autho rized cfficar. c:::' obnervcz- upon request, 19.The' ''ih:niater or··his· ·dep'.l.tyJ!le.y: appoin~ 'one or mo~~ obeez vers :fer' the .p~":,poseof-;.nonit9Ij.I16"th~ operatiq~... of<:joint veIIturo!£i.slrlric ~ectivitieB .under- .the "Guideliooso ..All"-the 'eXpen;eff/in61'lldingtrCris~efion, sUbsietance'~ail~e of the .obsQrr, 1;o:carryoU.i·~hc. prescribedduti·ea.)iliall bo~bOrDe··bY.t· JV~: . " . .. . ' .. "'" . Observers Li.cence to be oarriod on board or site ~8J."Or obStru.otioll 6f"}observers or;':SuthorlzGd offioers -: 2Oe~licencGa under' this': Guidel~nes fails or :ret'us'es,: <::', ". '(e.) to;~r:n1t ~~~i~t;~'obs~rverto comeand:.re~~1i9~ .. boSrd 'or insideto:'.exGrci~c."ofe:rrypQloler to ~ne':'or inspect or C'bserVo::the operations i:records. or doCuments to confirm the fulf'ilnessofthe conditions provided:i.1i the -lioence or um~r this ','Guidelines, ..ro , is ,gUilty': of .anotf~nce'~:is:lie.bleto an: inmle(·:~te . cemellation of tho~!licence.· per oonth per month per month ?cr pair per morrth Fisl1i.nff Licenoe feos n J 22 0'1'110 focn .)f fisllil;.c ~::'CCllc(J by t;)"pc of fishinc C 2...1;' 11cr boat shall be add.i, t LonaI to -tnc above' licence f'ccn as f'o l l.ows t multi--purpose coaatal. fishiI1(; boat of 10m LOA or lcss •• ~.oe•••• Q ••••• o ••••• o•• ooUS$ 1(0 per montll per boa~ multi"""l)tlrpose ocas'tal, fishine boat of 18m LOA or lcsso~ocGee~~ooo~ee.~Qoo.o~~oc.USS160 per month per boat Tuna fisl'>.inc boat (sinelc boat operation) ••us$1600 Bottomj!'i:..d-water trilIiler' of less than 100 G R '1' ••• ~.ooD.~•• o.c.~.o•••• o.o •• a •• ~oUS$ 160 Pair tr~lers of less th~~ 400 G R '1'.Do~~.US$ 720 TraNllers of more then 100GRl' to 250GRr.....US$ 240 'lIrawlers of more than 250GRl' 'to 500Gffil or Lees , , •••••••• c .. o •••• It US$ 320 »er- month Trawlers of, more than 500GRI' to 1000GR" or lass~~o•• ~.~c~ ••• ~.Q~oA•••••••••••••• fUSS 720 per month Tre;w'lers of more than 1000 GRl'u ... u .......US$1CXX> per month luni.ster of Fisherif's &I.Resources 1st April 1905 Fisheries Statistics: The f o l l ow i nq are summaries of the cater, statistics for 1985, prov i de d by the Ministry of Fisheries and ~1arine Resources. In the case of the offshore production, the weights are estimated from the number of cartons, multiplied by a mean weight per carton. Th ev are not t.vhole weights, as dressed and gutted fish are packaged along with whole fish. The weights of lobster are whole '~eights, as are the weights of fish and sh ar k s produced by the coopera t i ves , and purchased by the fish i ng companies. Table 1 Produc t ion f l' om all Sec tors (tonnes) Fish Deep-sea Totals Lobster Offshore 9,048 346 9,395 Production Purchases by 2,040 52 2,092 Compan i es * Production by 4,067 64 4,131 Cooperatives ------ Tota 1s 15,155 461 15,617 * from small scale and art i sana 1 fishermen Table 2 Production by Offshore Sector (tonnes) Deep-sea Lobster Totals A n ton i eta Mad r e (1 ice nsed 1 , 141 Italian demersal t r aw l e r ) De Giosa1 (1 icensed Ita1 ian 603 demersal trawler) Sekishu Maru (1 i cens ed 3,120 .Jap anese demersal trawler) ShijuoKu Maru (1 i cens ec 2,526 Japanese demersal trawl er) 172 75 53 23 1 ,313 679 3,173 2,549 Afro Fishing Company (two 1 i c ens ed pa i r trawl e r s ) Chearng Yuam (1 icensed Singapore demersal trawler) Christan 1 (1 icensed demersal trawler) Christan 2 (1 icensed demersal trawler) ~Christan 3 (1 icensed demersal trawler) Christan ~ (licen~ed demersa1 trawler) Semenic (1 icens~d"R6manian pe 1ag i C;,;~.f~~w1er) 560 23 40 34 56 240 ;280 2 21 3.46 560 367 44 40 34 ·56 240 280 """---,--: Table 3 Production by Cooperatives (and Re-settlements) (tonne'.:) Fish Sha 11 O\.J Totals sn d -~v«. t e r Sharks lobster Coop e r a t i ve s : Ras Kiamboni cr, 15 67.J,J Kulmis 119 11 130 f<ismayo 260 16 276 Sub-Tota 1s 432 42 474 Baraawe 97 97 El Ahmed 19 19 Maka 'i? 22L. Jasi ira 27 27 Mogad i shu 4"? 7 438<J Adale 51 51 Sub-Totals 648 7 655 Bander Bayla 505 15 520 Hurdiya 110 110 Xaafun 352 352 Baargaal 108 108 Caluula 468 468 Qandala 174 174 UQoray 64 64 Boosaaso 133 133 Maydh 4 4 Berbera 62 62 Hobyo 45 45 Sub-Tota l s .2,026 15 .2,041 Re-settlements: Dan Cadale 560 560· .Dan Baday 235 235 Dan EI Ahmed 167 167 ';'"': . Sub-Tota·l s .961 961... :;.~/o '. -: .~ 4,1-31T.otal s 4;067. 64 Tab 1e 4 Pur chase s bl' Pub1iceom pan i e s (tonnes) Fish Shallow Totals and -water SharKs lobster Xaabo (at Boosaaso) 1,434 1 ,434 Somal i Marine Products 425 52 477 (at Kismayo) Fish Re ta i 1 MarKet 180 180 ------ Totals 2,040 co.... 2,092~IL Joint Venture Licence Fees: A draft Gujdellne~ for Fi sh eri es Jo i n t IvlentlJre~ w i t h Foreign Partners has been prepared by the Ministry of Fisheries and ~'1arine Resources. Inc 1udedis the f 0 1101,<1 i n9 bas i s for as ~ ess i ng 1 ice nc e fee s (a s 0 f Apr i ] 1,1985); "A company~ society or other association of persons establ i shed ,,,Ii th the Somal i partner invest i ng more than fifty percent of the who l e joint venture cap i t al , including working capital for the operations, and fixed capital for all physical assets, ~'Jhether or not it is loan capital, and all the properties re q i s t er ed in Somal ia under the laws of Somal i a , fee US$ 10,000 per year or equivalent: in Somali shillings A company, society or other association of persons establ i sh ed for the purpose of install ing fish processing facilities, and/or chartering of vessels for the purpose of exporting their products, and importation of fishing equipment and suppl ies required including fishing gear. fee US$ 12,000 per 6 months or equivalent in Somali shillings .- -. The following fishing 1 icence fees are in addition to the above; multi-purpose coastal fishing boat of 10 m LOA or less ••••• US$ 100 /month/boat multi-purpose coastal fishing boat of 18 m LOA or less ••••• US$ 160 /month/boat '- tuna fishing boat ••••• US$ 1,600 /month/boat , ~ bottom/m i d-wa. tel' trawler of less' tha.n 100 GRT •••• US$ 160 /month/boat Offshore Foreign Fishing Licence Fees: A Ministeri~l decree, dated 24/9/86, describes the following conditions as applying to licensed foreign fishing; 30 percent of the crew to be Somal i provision to accomodate Somali scientists prohibition on marKeting the catch in Arabia and East Africa payment of fees on the basis of US$ 80 /horsepower unit/boat, plus a royalty of 7 percent of the catch value, using the foll~~ing prices US$ 700 /tonne for fish US$ 6,000 /tonne for deep-sea lobster US$ 1,100 /tonne for cuttlefish and squid US$ 4,500 /tonne for large shrimp US$ 2,000 /tonne for small shrimp (applying these fees to the De Giosa and SeKishu Maru during 1985, would have generated income to the Sonial i government of US$ 288,301 and US$ 351,067 respectively) Hard Currency Ava i lab i l i ty: A har d cur r enc y fun d 0 f US$ 140 mil 1 ion has bee n est ab lished .: US$ 70 million from the World BanK, US$ 25 million from the Italian Government, e t ci , from wh i ch US$ 2 . 5 mil I ion i s auc t ion ed ever y 15 day s . Two auctions have been held sofar. At the first there were 32 successful bidder s , and the buy i ng pric e was de term i ned asSo , Sh. 140 per US$ 1. This compares with the official exchange rate for selling dollars of So. Sh. 80 per US$ 1. The second auction had 65 successful bidders, and the buying price was So. Sh. 100 per US$ 1. The system involves recieving sealed bids, in which the amount of money required and a bidding price are specified. These are ranKed in order of bidding price, from highest to lowest. The successful bids are those with the highest bidding price, with the number limited to that which just commits the US$ 2.5 million. The buying price applied to all the succe ss f u I bidde r sis the n de term i ned as the I owes t biddin g pric e from amongst the successful bids. Somal i Ital ian Fishing Company (SCt1ITFISH): SOMITFISH is the remnant of a joint venture between the Somal i government and the Italian company Societa Eserc i z i o Cantieri (SEC). The or i gin a1 w0 r kin 9 cap ita 1 was US$ 1 mil I ion, 0 f wh i ch 65 per cen twa s con t ribu ted from the Somal i s i de, and35 PH C en t from the I tal i an s i de . The company managed three 68 metre stern trawlers, purchased from the SEC during 1981, utilising a US'$ 21.5 million credit facility provided by the Ital ian government. The terms were repayment over seven years at ei qh t percent interest per annum. Subsequently much of the loan was converted into a grant. The three trawlers have not operated since August 1983. In that year the catches totalled 2,050 tonnes of demersal species, including deep sea lobster. All of this w,as transhipped to Italy. It appears that SOMITFISH was not profitable, and now it is wholly owned by the Somal i government. The vessels are presently undergoing modifications at a shipyard in Mombasa, arranged b>' the SEC, and two are expected to be returned in October 1986. The cost of the modifications are being met by the Ital ian government. The Somal i government intends to maintain ownership of the vessels. This is despite the rec.ommendation from a tasK force <assisted by the UK Overseas Development Agency) that theY be sold or made available for charter. The government is presently seeKing to re-establ ish a joint venture between SOMITFISH and the SEC, in which the latter also contributes some vessels. Negotiations with the Italians are scheduled for October 1986. It is rumoured that the SEC will not wish to contribute vessels, but rather will seeK to negotiate a management contract, in order to minimise its financial exposure. Such a contract might limit the SEC involveme~t to providing the senior~crew members, plus a small number of on-shore staff; all remunerated directly from the gross revenues. Sea Fish International Co. Ltd.: This isapr i vat e sec tor c om pan y reg i s t eredin Som a I i a . I t has participated in offshore fisheries development since 1975. This has included some early experience w i t h the export of tuna to Italy. Subsequently the company l""a.S agent to the establ ishment of the SOMITFISH joint venture, established to exploit the offshore demersal trawl resources. Since 1979 it has acted as agent in respect to 11 stern trawlers of the Atlantic Class. During 1985, it represented two trawlers from Jap an , owned by Nichiro, and operated as I icensed foreign vessels. In a paper presented at the First National Fisheries Development WorKshop, held in Mogadishu during August 1986, the idea I offshore demersa 1 trawl er was descr i bed as 67- 70 metres in length, with 2,000-2,500 horsepower, refrigeration capacity of 400-500 tonnes, fue I tanK capac i ty of 300-350 tonnes, and hav i ng a crew size of 28-34 persons. The SEKISHU MARU (2,200 horsepower) was cited as having a satisfactory catching performance. During the period July 1984 to May 1985 the catch was 2,835 tonnes , from 230 fish i ng days, 1960 trawl shots, for catch rates of 12.3 tonnes per day and 1.4 tonnes per shot. All the catch was exported to Italy, after unloading at Djibouti or Berbera~ It is unclear whether the two Japanese vessels will be returned to Somalia. The profitability of.theventure was apparently marginal. The principal constraint is suggested as being the modest prices recieved for the fish, as a consequence. of inc 1ud i ng the lower grades in the consignments, and some apprehension in the importing countries to buying fish caught in Somal ia. A possibl& remedy, suggested in th~ pap~r, is to attempt to market the lower grades in the Arab countries, while continuing to market the higher grades in Italy. Another poss ibn i ty is to process (sk inand fillet) the lower grades onshore at Berbera, and then to export to the ~fast food~ chains in Europe. Romanian Prospection Cruise in 1983/84 *: Prospecting and commercia.l pelagic trawl ing were un de r t ak e n during seven months between November 1983 and October 1984. The two factory ships, GLABUCET (88.3 metres) and BAHLUI (102 metres), caught 6,112 tonnes from 641 trawl shots or 997 trawl i ng hours. The catch composi t i on was 48 pe r c e n t of Sardinelle longiceps, 21 pe r c e n t of Scomber japonicus, 20 percent of Etrumeus teres, and 7 per c e n t of Decapterus spp. Fifty five percent of the catch was f r oz e n , 45 per c e n t was converted to f i shmeal , and 21 tonnes of oil was produced. rht> mean catch rates were 42.4 t onn e s per day (6.1 tonnes per trawl ing hour), with monthly variations between 11.1 and 56.9 tonnes per day ( 1.1 to 12 tonnes per trawl ing hour). These were acheived using trawls having horozontal openings of 80 to 100 metres, and vertical openings of about 35 metres, when towed at about 5 Knots. Dur i ng the last cru i se it was de term i ned tha t surface trawl i ng at night-time was most productive, enabling almost clean catches of Sardinella longiceps. During the day-time the best catches were taken with the footrope 4 to 5 metres from the bottom, associated with a false footrope in contact with the bottom. The fishing lo~ation was between Cape Guardafui 'and Cape Hafun, from 100 48' to 110 55' N, in depth~of 20 to 200 metres (an area of about 750 sq.n.miles). Using the. catch rates and estimates of the volume of sea swept by the gear, the volume occupied by the fish, and an assumed catching efficiency of 0.5326, the biomass of the stock was determined a~ 131,000 tonnes. The potential annual yield was assumed to be a third of the biomass, 01" 43,700 tonnes pel" year. This could be taken by three to foul" factory trawlers of the type use-d during the prospecting. Subsequent to 'the cruises the Romanian Government submitte-d a joint venture pr'bposal, which envisaged Nve Romanian factory ships operating in the p~eviously surveYed· area. The· proposal was judged as 'not providing sufficient benefit.to the Somali side, and a new proposal is being sought. * Information Source: .. Report from the,:Romanian Institute ~ol'<Mar-ine Research' at Cons t anz aj.: t i.t l e d 'The ::.results.:ofthe -Roman ian , research follOwing' the' fishing:.:pr'ospecting .cr.:uises:,.in'.:the:wahrs:of,the\,Somal i Oemocra tic. Republi c from'.November.19,83 .to:Oetobe-r~ 1984)