Fishing is inherited in Gaza

"Fishing is inherited in Gaza. I grew up knowing nothing else. I can be nothing but a fisherman," Kahlout says in an article posted on IRIN webiste on Sept. 2006 recalling the long tradition of fishing in Gaza.

There are 2,500 registered fishers in the Strip of Gaza and a further 2,500 people employed in the fishing industry (e.g. fish marketing, boat services, boat repair and maintenance). Out of the 1,4 million Palestinians living in the Strip, it is estimated that approximately 35,000 people rely on the fishing industry as a source of food or income.

The fisheries sector is relatively small compared to the major fisheries of neighbouring countries. Yet, for the economy of Gaza (characterised by a high unemployment rate, a severe shortage of job opportunities, and a lack of natural resources), the fisheries sector has been and could be a significant source of high protein food, employment, income and foreign exchange earnings.

Yet fishing has been subject to restrictions and bans by Israel which "(...) significantly scaled down the amount, size, and variety of fish that fishermen can catch," Tareq Saqer, Director General of Fish Resources in the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture, says.

Saqer says that the "unfair restrictions" placed on Palestinian fishermen cost the fishing sector millions of dollars in fishing equipment destroyed by Israeli naval forces in addition to millions more in lost income from fish sales.

[More on restrictions on to the IRIN website article. IRIN stands for Integrated Regional Information Networks. It is part of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, but its services are editorially independent.]