Information on the above-mentioned topic could not be found among the sources consulted by the DIRB. However, the attached 28 May 1996 Reuters report mentions the downloading of rock lobsters, snapper, grouper and mackerel in Mogadishu. The attached 17 February 1993 Inter Press Service (IPS) report, quoting a Somalian academic, states that the main fishing catches in Somalia waters are tuna, mackerel, sardines, snapper, bream, shark, lobster and sea turtles and that the Gulf of Aden in the north, the north-eastern coast and the southern coral reefs near the Kenyan border offer the highest fishing potential.

For information on the Bajuni people and their fishing activities and techniques, Please consult Responses to Information Requests SOM23164.E of 27 February 1996, SOM21905.E of 6 October 1995 and SOM5071 of 27 April 1990 which are available at Regional Documentation Centres. Also, please refer to the DIRB's May 1995 occasional paper entitled Victims and Vulnerable Groups in Southern Somalia which is also available at Regional Documentation Centres.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Inter Press Service (IPS). 17 February 1993. John Tanner. "Development: Somalis Failing to Catch Rich Fish Harvest." (NEXIS)

Reuter. 28 May 1996. BC Cycle. Mark Dodd. "Feature ( Risk Capital Needed for Somali Fishing Venture." (NEXIS)

Inter Press Service (IPS). 17 February 1993. John Tanner. "Development: Somalis Failing to Catch Rich Fish Harvest." (NEXIS)

Reuter. 28 May 1996. BC Cycle. Mark Dodd. "Feature ( Risk Capital Needed for Somali Fishing Venture." (NEXIS)

Africa South of the Sahara. Yearly. London: Europa Publications Ltd.

La grande encyclopédie du monde. 1989. Vol. 14. Montréal: Éditions Atlas Canada Ltée.

The New Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1989. 15th ed. Edited by Philip W. Goetz. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc.