Source:
IRINOPT: Gaza fishermen’s livelihoods in jeopardyGAZA CITY, 7 June 2007 (IRIN) - Almost a year after Israel imposed
harsh restrictions on fishing off the Gaza coast, the industry is in
sharp decline and fishermen’s livelihoods are in jeopardy.
Gaza fishermen are now allowed by the Israeli navy to fish up to eight
nautical miles off the coast after what the UN described as a "near
total ban" on fishing since last June, when Gaza-based militants from
the armed Palestinian faction Hamas abducted an Israeli soldier.
The best fishing begins at about 18 nautical miles out, Gaza fishermen
say. However, they have not been allowed so far out for so long that
the coastal waters have been overexploited, resulting in the depletion
of breeding grounds.
Israel said the restrictions were necessary to stop weapons and drugs
smuggling into Gaza, though the Oslo Accords of 1993 stipulated that
Palestinian fishermen were entitled to fish up to 20 nautical miles out.
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http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=72597