Sunday 19 Oct 2025 {HMC} A Puntland court has fined and deported 15 Iranian fishermen after convicting them of illegally fishing in Somali waters off the Bari coast, regional authorities announced Sunday.
The court ordered each fisherman to pay a $500 fine before being repatriated to Iran. The men were apprehended during a joint maritime operation by Puntland security forces targeting unauthorized foreign vessels operating in Somali territorial waters.
Two Somali nationals who worked with the Iranian crew received three-year prison terms and $2,000 fines, while another Somali suspect tried in absentia was sentenced to five years in prison and fined $5,000.
The vessel used in the operation was fined $70,000, and authorities were ordered to confiscate its illegal catch. Puntland’s maritime authorities said the ruling sends a message that illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing will not be tolerated in Somali waters.
Illegal fishing has become a persistent problem along Puntland’s 1,600-kilometer coastline, where local fishing communities say foreign vessels have depleted marine stocks.
Source HIIraan Online
