Under a beautiful winter sun, the waves of the Mediterranean come to smash the jetty and the boats in Gaza, the Palestinian enclave of more than two million inhabitants under blockade of Egypt and Israel. At the end of the channelin his cinder block and sheet metal shop, Maher sells hot coffee and peanuts, and he finds that the fishing is much less good. “It’s clear, he sighs. Five or seven years ago, the fish were the size of my arm, very beautiful fish! But now you only have very small fish…”
Red and white keffiyeh around the neck and bonnet Top Gun on the head, Hassan Baker saw the situation deteriorate. At 55, including more than forty at sea, the fisherman and his crew darn the fishing nets. The Israeli army controls Gaza’s land and sea borders, limiting the movement of fishermen since the war between Israel and Hamas in the summer of 2014.
“The fishing distance is no longer like in the past, he explains. Now you can just go 16 kilometers. But sometimes, at 16 kilometers, the Israeli navy shoots at us and orders us to return to five kilometers! So I have to deal with that…”
“I have my net which is ready, but the army can damage it: it’s a real loss for me. My work is just enough to pay for material repairs and then there is not much left to feed my children. .”
Hassan Bakerat franceinfo
Seven years ago, all this gave an idea to the El Adj family, owner supermarkets. “Because of the lack of fish in Gaza, we decided to embark on this fish farming project, indicated Ahmad, 23, the son of the founder. We buy the eggs in Israel… We import them!”
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With 28 basins and 70 employees, they produce 300 tonnes per year. Irony: the dthey farms are right by the sea. “We conamount for 45,000 euros of electricity per month, that’s a lot! Before, we used fuel-powered generators, but today we prefer solar panels, which are better for the environment…” 60% of the farm’s production is re-exported to Israel and the West Bank.