Let's Play the Blame Game

What causes a person to take on a dangerous lifestyle? There are a multitude of reasons for this. For some, it may be the need to provide for themselves or their family. Individuals act each day in order to have food, shelter, or the capitol to purchase either for their own safety as well as others. For some, this could be working as a farmer to grow food to eat and trade for other necessities. Others may work a 9 to 5 job at a computer to earn a paycheck to provide the same. And in other cases, individuals may take drastic options like piracy to make ends meed.

To understand the issue of piracy off the coast of Somalia, one needs to look at the circumstances that make up life in the area. The nation of Somalia borders on the ocean, where fishing remains one of the most profitable economic endeavors. Since the beginning of the 21st century, foreign parties have fished in areas around the country taking creatures such as lobster, tuna and shrimp. These foreigners make fishing more difficult for locals who historically relied on fish stocks to maintain their way of life.  Since 2005, a number of pirate-based attacks have targeted large shipping vehicles throughout the coast. Thefts are estimated to cost nearly seven billion dollars worth of damages each year. Pirates target these larger ships with more valuable cargo rather than smaller fishing ships.

There are two parties that have formed in response to these pirate attacks. One group beleives the issue is one entirely of security; they are not concerned with the root cause of piracy. To them, the solution to piracy will come from heightened protection against pirates. The natural extension is a growth in spending on security as well as growing attacks from pirates to achieve their goals, both costing more money and lives as the conflict continues. Another group sees the pirates as victims of international circumstance. With foreign powers taking their way of providing for themselves via fish, the pirates have turned to another method of providing for themselves. In this scenario, the root of the problem is entirely with the foreign influence on their own ecosystem and economy, and addressing the root would end the conflict.

It would be difficult to absolutely link declining fish stocks to foreign fishing operations, and even further that these piracy events occur because of the lower fish stocks. Despite this, I personally believe the issue at hand stems from both viewpoints, and a solution must take both into consideration. Given the opportunity to provide food and resources to locals using historic fishing, it is possible that some who use piracy to provide for themselves may take the less dangerous way of making money. It would seem probable that many want to have money with the least possible labor or the least deadly means of making the money.  That being said, it is impossible to know the motivation for all pirates. The availability of fish resources may deter some, but it is no guarantee that piracy will be prevented. While the security arms race may end up with simply increasing costs of shipping companies as well as lives lost, increased security can help to prevent pirates from taking resources.

Looking to each side of an argument has the benefits of taking the recommendation from both sides. In reality, there is no one explanation or best practice for preventing future attacks. The best policy makers can do is to use a multitude of tactics to address the issue on several levels.