War on Gaza further hinders Palestinian fishermen's livelihood

Palestinian fishermen have lost their main source of income due to the Israeli restrictions on the fishing areas off the Gaza coast.

The restrictions, put in place by Israel, meant Palestinians could only sail three nautical miles from the coast. This has been further hindered by the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip which has forced fishermen to stay at home. The plight of the fishermen is one of the points which are of greatest concern to the Palestinian delegation in Cairo.

Palestinian fishermen want to sail at least 12 nautical miles, into international waters, in order to catch sufficient fish to maintain their livelihoods.

During the last eight years of Israel’s siege on the Strip, Israel has enforced a six nautical mile area in which fishing was permitted, during heightened tensions this was reduced to just three miles. During the current Israeli assault on Gaza fishermen have not left land.

Israel has imposed a ground, air and sea siege on the Gaza Strip for eight years. It claims that it is undermining Hamas’ power in the enclave.

Return to “zero point”

Fisherman Khalid Abu-Riyad, 50, said the Israeli occupation took us back to “point zero. We have not been into the sea for more than a month.”

The United Nations food agency estimates 3,600 Gazan households are involved in fishing. Just under half of those have no other source of income.

“The livelihood of these people is completely jeopardised,” said Ciro Fiorillo, head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s operations in Gaza and the West Bank.

The agency estimates that the latest conflict deprived fishermen of around 200-250 tonnes of fish, or 9-10 per cent of their average annual catch under a six-mile restriction.

Describing how they are harassed by Israeli naval forces, fishermen say that often while they are inside the allocated fishing area, they are obliged to leave their equipment and flee from the Israeli aggressions.

Israeli naval forces sometimes confiscate the equipment even if the fishermen stay within the area Israel has approved for them.

Fisherman Suboh Al-Hesi, 36, said: “It is very dangerous, after six miles there may be shooting.”

Al-Hesi earns 20-30 shekels ($6-9) a day but often comes back empty-handed. The past four years have been especially tough, he says: “Fuel has tripled in price since 2006 and competition has increased as more men, who lost jobs, started fishing.”