Fishermen Hook Silver Lining in Pirate Crisis

The fishermen of Kenya and Somalia are enjoying their best catches in many years thanks to Somali pirates scaring away illegal trawlers. Before piracy became a problem, commercial fishing vessels from around the world took advantage of Somalia's lack of an effective government to raid its waters, reaping vast numbers of fish. Fishermen say stocks of fish have soared, and many rarely seen species have returned.

The better catches have helped many fishing communities raise their income and their quality of life. The Somali pirates—who sometimes use illegal fishing activities to justify their actions—are nothing more than terrorists, the head of a sports fishing company tells AP. "But as long as they can keep the big commercial boats out, not fishing the waters, then it benefits a lot of other smaller people," he said.
(More Somali pirates stories.)