Source: AFP

While Spanish tuna purse seiners have been ordered back to port due the threat to their crew of hijacking by Somali pirates; the French fleet is still able to operate. French boat owners have struck a deal to have soldiers on board to protect their vessels.

“It’s what works best for the time being,” said a captain, who nevertheless admits there could be a “risk of things getting out of control”. Michel Goujon, who heads a trade body, the French Organization of Frozen Tuna Producers, told the French tuna boats not been allowed to have soldiers on board, they would have stopped fishing in waters off Somalia.