Along Eritrea’s coastline, in the desert strip between Massawa and Assab, most people live from fishing. This is because the region is not suitable for green agriculture as it belongs to the dry and hot Danakil desert. Since it is difficult to obtain fuel to power boats, local fishermen face problems in going out far to the Red Sea to find rich fishing grounds. Because the heat of the water surface close to the coast reaches high temperatures, fish swarms leave the coastal waters. In addition to this, lack of fuel leads to a shortage of ice, because refrigerators depend on fuel powered electricity from power plants.

Ice is required as there is a need to keep the fish fresh while transporting, storing and trading the catch around markets in the region. Fishermen rather sell the fish freshly caught while on sea to Yemen. This shows that the limitation of resources keeps the local fishing industry below its potential.

However, there is a “wind of change” coming in the name of the Wind Energy Application Pilot Project financed by the UNDP and the Global Environment Facility. Under the project it is planned to provide electricity for seven villages in the area in 2009.

The prospects that the venture will be successful are promising. According to the local officials and the responsible implementation team of Turkish engineers, wind speeds of over seven knots are required to produce sufficient electricity. Along the Red Sea cost of Eritrea, winds can reach up to 10 knots or more. The planned wind park installations in Assab and the region will reduce fuel dependency and reduce expenditure of fuel imports. Read more: IRIN.

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