The challenge of fish farms in Gaza

Palestinians living in Gaza are facing threatening consequences to the blockade imposed by Israel and one of them is on the supply of fish.

Fishermen face the risk of being shot at by the Israeli navy so the fishing industry has been forced to find new ways to address the dwindling supply of the territory’s food staple.


One fisherman says that restrictions in the water to a 5.5 kilometer radius has prompted fish farms to cultivate seafood instead.

Shihda al-Deeb is a manager of a local fish farm who says that because customers are accustomed to buying freshly caught fish, business at local fish farms is yet to take off.

"We’ve had difficulty marketing our product. Customers come to look at the fish in the pool and even though they can see that they are good quality, they are not used to eating fish from fish farms. We try to convince them to come back so I hope that works.”

Gaza fish farms, a recent initiative, are now competing with Egyptian sea fish which is smuggled into the territories. One fishmonger says that if they only relied on local produce, the shop wouldn’t survive.

Fishermen were able to sail four times the distance but are now at risk of having their boats seized. Some have even been injured in tussles with Israeli sea guards.


Israel imposed a blockade on the territory to stop Islamist group Hamas from obtaining arms for possible military missions.


Speaker:

Shihda al-Deeb - fish farm manager