I’m not sure if it’s just me, but I don’t see then plight of fishermen in Gaza caused by the sea blockade addressed much on Tumblr and it’s sad. So, here are some things that some of you might want to know about the issue.
For starters, this map shows that although under the 1993 Oslo Accords the Palestinians were allowed to fish within 20 nautical miles off the Gaza shores, in 2008 Israel had reduced the fishing area to only three nautical miles.
In November 2012, and as part of the ceasefire agreement, Palestinian fishermen were allowed to fish within six nautical miles. However, soon after that, the Israeli Forces continued to force the fishermen of Gaza to fish within 3 nautical miles only whilst continuing to target them within the allocated areas on a daily basis.
The fishing industry in Gaza has been under siege which basically bans fishermen in Gaza from reaching areas that are rich with fish since they have been forced to fish in shallow waters. Fishermen say that these miles are not enough and that they at least need to fish within 10 miles to be able to reach areas abundant with fish.
On most days, fishermen are not even allowed to depart. This results in a shortage of fish in the market, raising its price which therefore sabotages the already weak economy of Gaza.
Consequently, the number of fishermen has dropped from around 10,000 in the year 2000 to only 3,500 today. This is happening whilst the fishing industry supports over 40,000 people in Gaza, over 3,400 families and 2000 workers.
Mohamed Abu Amera, a 20 year-old fisherman from Gaza explains the situation saying that “as a result of the Israeli occupation, we cannot reach many points and we cannot catch many fish from the sea, so we stick together. All of the boats fish at the same points, and there is no fish as a result”
Since 2000, 9 fishermen have been killed, many injured or abducted. In 2012 alone, 36 boats were confiscated, which means that at least 36 families are affected and that they no longer have proper livelihood, if at all. Israel also practices forms of humiliation against fishermen forcing them to strip and swim naked from their boats and back in freezing waters. So far this year there were at least 15 reported attacks against Gazan fishermen.
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