Somaliland doesn’t have a history of fishing. Now it’s building its economy around it. Danish shipowner Per Gullestrup had been through the trauma of negotiating the release of his vessel and crew — hijacked by Somali pirates — when he decided to tackle the problem at its source by developing alternative opportunities for local communities. He established Fair Fishing, a nonprofit organization aimed at creating jobs, driving economic growth and improving nutrition and food security, all through fishing. War-torn Somalia wasn’t an option, so he started operations in Somaliland in 2011, with support from its stable government. Unlike Somalia, Somaliland has no history of fishing outside the small coastal city of Berbera. But seven years after Gullestrup’s decision, Fair Fishing isn’t alone. The self-declared state that isn’t recognized as an independent entity internationally is emerging as the unlikely home of a fishing industry that’s generating jobs, drawing back Somalilanders who had left for other countries, empowering women and changing diets. | 