Cold War, Tropical Fisheries

This evening I met with Joaquim Tenreiro de Almeida, former Secretary of State for Fisheries in Mozambique during the 1980s. He kindly provided feedback on the Mozambique catch reconstructions and some interesting insights into a couple allegations about Mozambique's involvement with the Soviet Union.

Brief history refresher: The Portuguese colonized Mozambique in the 16th century. In 1962, anti-colonial forces formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) and initiated an armed campaign against Portuguese colonialism. The country gained independence in 1976, which was followed by a 16-year civil war (which left more than a million people dead and more than four million as refugees). In 1992, the government and guerilla groups signed a cease-fire agreement.

In the report, which addresses how conflict affected fisheries, I wrote a few statements (followed by citations) that point to Mozambique's ties to the Soviet Union. For instance:

FRELIMO established a one-party state aligned with the Soviet Union.

Soviet fishing vessels overexploited many of Mozambique's fishing grounds, including the rich resources of Sofala Bank.

Former Secretary Tenreiro explained that this rhetoric is remnant of a propaganda machine largely fueled, at the time, by Apartheid South Africa. According to Tenreiro, South Africa wanted to give the rest of the world the impression that Mozambique was under control of the Soviet Union (at one point accusing the Soviet Union of literally pumping shrimp out of Mozambique, which, Tenreiro insists, they were not).

During this time, the Swedish ambassador told the Mozambique government that Sweden was going to withdrawal its fisheries aid due to rumors of excess Soviet fishing effort (Mozambique convinced the Swedes to send a consultant to investigate and he found their claim was unjust). "South Africa was essentially saying 'we are your natural allies' to the rest of the world," explained Tenreiro. This helped South Africa get more aid from the West.

FRELIMO was tied to Marxist principles but not to the Soviet Union specifically. And Soviet fishing vessels were fishing around Mozambique but so were boats from other nations. Mozambique had even denied the Soviet Union use of its large factory boats in Mozambican waters.

The Cold War seems now a distant memory. In the late 1980s, reforms were put in place that would privatize many government-run programs, including some that supported small-scale fisheries. But occasionally gumbies like me dig up old documents and remind former government officials of Mozambique's apparently fabricated alliance to the Soviet bloc and Red reputation.