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The Socotra Archipelago (Yemen), a group of four islands off the north-eastern tip of Africa in the western Indian Ocean, has a population that relies heavily on small-scale fishing for livelihoods and food security. However, the reporting of fisheries catches by Yemen has consistently been incomplete, with artisanal (small-scale, commercial) catches underreported and small-scale non-commercial subsistence and recreational catches not reported at all. Here, we reconstruct the total small-scale catches and fishing effort from the waters of the Socotra Archipelago for 1950 to 2019, and derive catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) estimates for these fisheries. The catch officially reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization on behalf of Yemen that was assumed taken from the archipelago is thought to be around 20% of the total reconstructed catch for the archipelago. The reconstructed small-scale catch increased from ~1,500 t in 1950 to an all-time peak of 12,000 t in 2000 before declining to 3,300 t by 2014. Thereafter, catches increased again slightly to just over 3,700 t·year-1 by 2019. Artisanal catches accounted for around 70% of total small-scale catches prior to 2010, but made up only around 46% by 2019. Conversely, subsistence catches increased from ~1,000 t in 2010 to ~2,000 t in 2019, and accounted for 54% of total catches by 2019. Small-scale fishing effort increased by over 1000% since 1950 and reached over 11 million kWdays by 2019. The CPUE derived for small-scale fisheries declined by 78% since 1950, from 1.4 kg·kWday-1 to 0.3 kg·kWday-1 in 2019, with most of the decline occurring after 2000. Our findings suggest resource overexploitation, and may assist efforts to more sustainably manage the Socotra Archipelago's fish stocks. Small-scale fisheries support food and nutrient security of the local population, not least during political and humanitarian crises such as in Yemen.

Just one week after Chapala, another storm is targeting Socotra Island, Yemen.

Just one week after Chapala, another storm is targeting Socotra Island, Yemen.

India said on Sunday it was taking steps to ensure the safe evacuation of its nationals from Yemen after a sailors' group claimed that 70 seamen from Gujarat were stranded in the war-ravaged county.

India said on Sunday it was taking steps to ensure the safe evacuation of its nationals from Yemen after a sailors' group claimed that 70 seamen from Gujarat were stranded in the war-ravaged county.

China MSA tells Chinese ships to avoid seas off Yemen.

China MSA tells Chinese ships to avoid seas off Yemen.

Almost 60 people missing after ship sinks off Yemen.

Yemen's state weakness due to fragmentation and ongoing conflicts allowed Al Qaeda and affiliates to take and hold territory, possibly enabling them to seize the Port of Aden. If Al Qaeda establishes safe havens in the southern Abyan province, supported by local Yemeni inhabitants, attacks at sea or in near by ports similar to the "USS COLE bombing" in 2000 could become a threat, increasing the danger to Red Sea shipping. Yet Al Qaeda is of secondary concern for the Yemeni government, with secessionist insurgencies in the north and the south threatening the state's unity. Only a stable Yemen can effectively deny Al Qaeda a stable base in the long run.

Deadly Yemen catamaran raid 'pirates' sent to France.

An epic deluge is on the way to one of the driest parts of the world. Coastal parts of Yemen and Oman receive, on average, only 4 or 5 inches each year. This weekend, thanks to Cyclone Chapala, some spots could get eight years worth of rain in just two days.

An epic deluge is on the way to one of the driest parts of the world. Coastal parts of Yemen and Oman receive, on average, only 4 or 5 inches each year. This weekend, thanks to Cyclone Chapala, some spots could get eight years worth of rain in just two days.

UN says cyclone hitting Yemen leaving 'extensive damage.

Britain warns shipping firms over Yemen.

2 boats capsize off Yemen coast; 80 feared drowned.

49 Somalis drown off Yemen coast.

At least 56 dead as smugglers throw 300 African migrants into Yemen sea.

With Chapala's destructive landfall in Yemen just a couple of days in the past, a second tropical cyclone, Megh, has just formed in the Arabian Sea. This one is not forecast to become anywhere near as intense as Chapala did-though we know intensity forecasts can be wrong, as they were at early stages for both Chapala and Patricia.

Panic, deaths as Yemen's Socotra hit by new cyclone.

Panic, deaths as Yemen's Socotra hit by new cyclone.