And you thought music piracy was bad....

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(Credit: International Maritime Bureau)

We spend a lot of time wringing our hands about music, movie, and software piracy. Out on the high seas, however, the human stakes are much higher. According to the International Maritime Bureau, piracy attacks on the high seas were up 10% in 2007.

You can see where the attacks occurred at right. Not many in the San Francisco Bay.

Who is to blame for the increase? Somalia and Nigeria, it would seem, who have gotten serious about their piracy:

Pirates and robbers boarding vessels were better armed and more brazen in assaulting and injuring crew members, with a 35 percent increase reported in the number of incidents involving guns, with 64 crew injured or assaulted, compared with 17 in 2006.

Next time you hear a music executive complain about kids stealing his or her music, put them on a boat and send them sailing around Somalia. Lovely this time of year, I hear.