Tragedy of the commons solved by pirates

Who needs Nobel Prize-winning political economist Elinor Ostrom when you can solve the tragedy of the commons with pirates?

The increasing levels of piracy off the coast of Somalia have caused an unexpected spin-off, raising the levels of fish in the sea.

Fisherman in Kenya have reported bumper catches of shark and shellfish because commercial fishing boats from China and Japan have been scared away.

Now the fishermen are able to catch up to £200 worth of fish per day in an area where the average daily earnings are less than £5.

The massive factory trawlers which used to drain their fish stocks have been scared away and that means there is a huge bounty for local fishermen as well as helping to restore the health of the marine eco-system.

Hat tip to Aid Thoughts (one of the new Africa/aid-related blogs I've added to my RSS reader, given my new whereabouts and the ubiquity of aid here).