An investigation about how Yemen’s sardine reserves were transformed into a source of profit for cross-border corporate networks and spheres of influence, reveals how volatile government decisions paved the way for an illegal and destructive industry that has depleted one of Yemen’s most vital marine resources and irrevocably altered the lives of coastal communities forever.
The investigation’s report published by Raseef22 found that “After years of declining catches, fishermen began linking the disappearance of sardines from their nets to the rapid expansion of fish grinding factories that have appeared in Al-Mahrah and Hadramawt over the past five years”.
The investigation, supported by the Pulitzer, also found that “In the absence of oversight, weak enforcement of laws, and the broader state of confusion gripping the country, conditions that the grinding factories have exploited.
Despite the scale of the violations, no notable penalties have been recorded against offending fishermen, and decisions to shut down non compliant factories were issued and briefly implemented before being reversed, according to official sources. This indicates a wide gap between regulatory texts and reality, along with an almost total absence of oversight over a marine resource that serves as a lifeline for thousands of coastal families.
This investigative report shows that continued operation of fish-grinding factories in this manner is not only a legal violation but also a real threat to fish resources and ecological balance along Yemen’s coastline. It deepens the damage and directly affects the lives of fishermen and their families, as thousands depend on the sea for their livelihood.
The investigative report recommended “Urgent intervention whether by shutting down noncompliant factories or converting them into integrated fisheries investments, while imposing strict oversight on production and exports. Only then can the sea remain a source of food and livelihood, and the next generation of fishermen inherit a future similar to that of their fathers: one full of life and opportunity, not emptiness, depletion, and destruction of their marine environment.