Experts say sea pirates are holding at least 13 ships and hundreds of people hostage at this very moment. It's a big money ransom game. One of the most dangerous places is the Gulf of Aden, off the coast of Somalia. You can see a cluster of reported attacks and attempted attacks in that area on the International Maritime Bureau Web site's map here...

And, Canada is getting increasingly involved in the issue. Although NATO and Afghanistan dominated the discussions at an international security conference in Halifax this weekend, counter-piracy was definitely on the agenda. The CBC's Stephen Puddicombe has that story on today's World Report. If you missed it, just click "Latest Audio" on the right side of this page.

Defence Minister Peter MacKay is proposing a new coordinated strategy by maritime nations to address the piracy threat. And, Canada has just deployed the HMCS Fredericton for six months. You can read the Defence Ministry's news release on that here.

Last week, the UN Security Council specifically talked piracy -- saying we can't fight pirates without tackling the roots of the problem. Here's the AFP's coverage of that.

Canada has been deploying ships into the world's seas to fight pirates for more than a year. Last May, CBC's David Common rode along on the HMCS Winnipeg in the Gulf of Aden. Here's his report from the ship . To get a glimpse of the action, you can watch David's on-board video on that page, too.