Fishing for Survival in Gaza City

As the sun peeks over the Eastern Sea in Gaza City, fisherman Feres al-Hessi and his nephews change out their nets for a second morning run. Their first was unsuccessful, and all they can hold onto is the hope that they might get lucky a second time. Between fuel for the small boat and feeding their families and the community, a lot of weight rests on al-Hessi’s shoulders to make a living.

In Cairo, Hamas and the Israelis are in postwar talks and one of the main contentions is simply giving fishermen room to catch more, and more variety. Hamas is demanding fishermen be allowed to go out to sea 12 nautical miles. Right now, they can only travel up to approximately one mile out. If the Israeli Navy catches them out past their limit, fishermen say that they will be detained or shot.

Before the treacherous month long conflict, some fishermen were able to go out up to five miles, but it decreases every time tensions rise with Israelis.

At the end of the day, al-Hessi knows that he needs to keep going. Seven days a week, he takes his boat out to look for fish, the main food source in the Gaza strip. But with such a short distance available to them, they are only able to catch sardines. Sometimes bigger fish swim a little closer to shore, but it is rare. Every fisherman out on the water is competing for the same lot.

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Fishing for Survival in Gaza City