Word: gaza
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...Loggerhead sea turtle was still alive, but barely. As it lay on its back on the pavement, occasionally flapping its fins, the fisherman who had caught it when it got stuck in his net a few miles off the coast of the Gaza Strip said he would take it home and eat it. The fisherman, who gave his name only as "Abu Mohamed," admitted that his catch was illegal. Loggerheads are classified internationally as an endangered species. But these days, environmental protection is rarely enforced in Gaza's waters. That's because, according to fishermen and local maritime officials, life...
...Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007, when the Islamist group Hamas took control of the territory. The blockade has crippled Gaza's economy, leaving 85% of the population dependent on humanitarian aid to survive. At sea, fishermen are restricted to three nautical miles from the coast, creating a crowded, overfished shoreline. "The big fish can be found after six miles, but the fishermen cannot go that far, so they catch what's available," says Mohamed al-Hissi, who serves as a liaison for fishermen affairs at the General Syndicate of Marine Fishers in Gaza City...
...against regulations... This does not allow the fish to grow up. If this continues, it will destroy the environment." The Palestinian National Authority was once able to enforce these rules. But now, Al-Hissi says, "We can't control it because there are no alternatives." (See pictures of Gaza digging out after the Israeli invasion...
Israel used to deem fishermen low security risks. Before Israel's "disengagement" in 2005, "during the curfews, the Israelis would call over loudspeakers to tell the fishermen that they were allowed to go to their boats to fish," says al-Hissi, who has worked with Gaza's fishermen for the past 13 years. "With a fisherman's license, you could move, even during the curfew." But he has watched with alarm as the strip's fishing radius has shrank with each political setback; the fishing industry and the coastal environment becoming collateral damage in a larger conflict that the fishermen...
Since last winter's Israeli offensive in Gaza, Operation Cast Lead, the fishermen say the daily hazards have only gotten worse. By day, the silhouettes of Israeli navy vessels are visible on the Mediterranean horizon. And by night, the thudding explosion of Israeli shells a few miles out to sea is audible even from the shore. "Every night there is shooting. They don't shoot directly at us. But when you get close to the three mile mark, they will fire into the water as a warning," says 23-year-old fisherman Ahmed Habil...