Aargh! Buccaneer High on the Pirate Life

Fisherman turned bandit after foreigners plundered ocean

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 22, 2009 9:44 AM CDT

(Newser) – The pirating life isn’t easy, but the rewards are many and some Somalis see the bandits as heroes, one buccaneer tells the BBC. The man, 25, says he used to be a fisherman, but he signed up with the hijackers after "illegal fishing and dumping of toxic wastes by foreign fishing vessels" emptied the local seas and deprived him of his livelihood.

Piracy "has many risks and difficulties," the man said. "Sometimes you spend months in the sea to hunt a ship and miss. Sometimes when we are going to hijack a ship we face rough winds, and some of us get sick and some die." The man said foreign navies can't stop the pirates, but they will readily disarm and go back to fishing when Somalia gets a strong government that can defend its fish stocks.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

"Sometimes you fail in capturing and sometimes you come under threat by foreign navies, but all we do is venture," a pirate told the BBC. (AP Photo/US Navy)

Somali fishermen work to repair the engine of their boat at Hamarweyne beach in Mogadishu, Somalia. Some pirates blame their activities on foreigners who depleted fish stocks. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

Somali pirates held by Puntland police forces sit in Bassaso, Somalia. Pirates say they are seen as heroes by many in the impoverished, anarchic nation. (AP Photo/File)

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I only want one more chance in piracy to increase my cash assets, then I will get married and give up. - a Somali pirate

We have local support; most of the people here depend on pirates directly or indirectly. Our work is seen by many in the coastal villages as legal and we are viewed as heroes. - a Somali pirate

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Aargh! Buccaneer High on the Pirate Life