Yemeni fishermen continue facing deadly threats in their daily fishing journeys in Yemen's territorial waters. Attacks by Eritrean authorities or Eritrean pirates are the number-one threat.
On Monday, an Eritrean patrol detained two fishermen while fishing in Yemeni territorial waters, the head of the Fishermen's Association in Mocha District, Hashim Al-Rifai, said.
Al-Rifai indicated that the fishermen were on board a small boat with a 15-horsepower engine when the Eritrean patrol detained them.
Since 2015, Yemeni fishermen on the West Coast have faced repeated violations by the Eritrean authorities as Yemen's warring sides are occupied with fighting each other on several frontlines across the country.
Human rights reports point out that Yemeni fishermen have been subjected to killing, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention under inhumane conditions of detention, torture, and cruel and abusive treatment, including beating, hard labor, and deprivation of food and water.
According to the reports, Eritrean forces have repeatedly confiscated fishermen's boats and attempted to sink them. These violations cause fishermen material losses and cost them the loss of their livelihood.
On March 9, 2024, 11 fishermen arrived in the city of Mocha after a month-long detention by Eritrean forces. The fishermen said that their boats were confiscated and that they were subjected to hard labor in Eritrean prisons. Their release came after close follow-up by Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council and the Yemeni diplomats in Eritrea.
The General Authority for Fisheries in the Red Sea revealed that 882 fishermen were kidnapped in 2021. In 2022, the number of abducted fishermen reached 750. Local reports showed that the Eritrean Navy has carried out more than 7,000 kidnapping crimes against Yemeni fishermen in the Red Sea since 2015.
A UN report says the fisheries sector in Yemen supplies work opportunities for more than half a million persons, who provide for 1.7 million and make up 18% of the coastal population of 9.4 million. According to the report, fishing is a major source of income, a critical sector for job creation, and a vital tributary of the economy.