Walid Ghaleb -

The number of traditional Yemeni boats detained by the Eritrean authorities since the beginning of 2006 till last month has reached 48, an official report said.

According to the report issued by the General Corporation for Fishing and Services Hodeidah Branch, some of those boats were completely confiscated, while the equipment and loads of most boats were seized.

Only 16 boats have been released after the Yemeni government carried out official negotiations and paid amounts of money to the Eritrean authorities, the report stated.
Officials of Fishing Associations maintain that the real number of detained boats is twofold the number indicated in the report.

The report statistics, of which the motamar.net obtained a copy, depends on official notices of detained boats. Previous years witnessed an increase in the number of detained boats by the Eritrean authorities.