NAIROBI, Kenya (CNN) -- Somalis are so
desperate to survive that attacks on merchant shipping in the Gulf
of Aden and the Indian Ocean will not stop, a pirate leader
promises.
A French warship keeps guard over commerical vessels in the Gulf of
Aden last week.
"The pirates are living between life and death," said the pirate
leader, identified by only one name, Boyah. "Who can stop them?
Americans and British all put together cannot do anything."
The interview with the pirate was conducted in late August by
journalists employed by the Somali news organization Garowe. The
complete interview was provided to CNN last week and provides a
glimpse of why piracy has been so hard to control in the
region.
Recorded on grainy video, the interview took place in the Somali
port city of Eyl, now a center of pirate operations. Eyl is on the
east coast of Somalia in the autonomous territory of Puntland. It
is a largely lawless zone, considered extremely dangerous for
Westerners to enter.
The Puntland government said two unidentified Western journalists
were taken hostage Wednesday as they attempted to report on pirate
activity.
Boyah said that the piracy began because traditional coastal
fishing became difficult after foreign fishing trawlers depleted
local fish stocks. Traditional fishermen started attacking the
trawlers until the trawler crews fought back with heavy weapons.
The fishermen then turned to softer targets. 
Watch
why fishermen turned to piracy »
"We went into the deep ocean and hijacked the unarmed cargo ships,"
Boyah said.
"For the past three years, we have not operated near the Somali
coast. We have operated at least 80 miles [out], in international
waters."
When merchant shipping started avoiding the Somali coast, Boyah said, "we went to ships traveling
other routes."
Over the past year, the number of pirate attacks has increased
dramatically. The International Maritime Bureau cites more than 90
pirate attacks off East Africa so far in 2008. When attacks are
successful, the hijacked ships are taken to Somali waters, where
the ships and crew are held until a ransom is
paid. 
See
how pirate attacks have increased »
Ships recently captured include a massive Saudi supertanker laden
with crude oil valued at more than $100 million and a freighter
carrying Russian-built tanks.
The hijackings have been profitable. Kenya's foreign minister, Moses Wetangula, estimates the
pirates have been paid more than $150 million during the past year.
One pirate gang wants $2 million dollars to release a Yemeni
freighter and crew seized last week.
Facing increasing disruptions through one of the busiest sea lanes
in the world, several countries have sent warships to patrol the
area. There have been reports of skirmishes between pirates and
naval forces, but the military presence does not concern pirate
leader Boyah. He boasts the pirates literally sail in a vast ocean
beneath the radar of the warships. Watch
how piracy thrives off Somalia »
"No ship has the capability to see everything," he said. "A ship
can see 80 miles or so [on radar]. It cannot see us at all. No one
can do anything about it."
Boyah said it is unlikely the Puntland regional government would
ever crack down on piracy because government officials are involved
in financing the piracy and collect a cut of the ransoms.
"They motivate us. It's their money and their weapons," Boyah said.
"Thirty percent belongs to them."
The Puntland foreign minister, Ali Abdi Aware, denied government
involvement with the pirates, including taking bribes. The minister
cited the arrest of six pirates earlier this year as evidence it is
acting to stop piracy.
Pirate Boyah said he is unimpressed with the arrests by Puntland
authorities.
While Boyah may have been outspoken about the government's
ineffectiveness, he did not allow interviewers to show his face, an
indication that even in this lawless country, pirates still have
some fear.