[Lebanon] Local fishermen face poverty, pollution, foreign navies

from Reuters Alert Net

The sea is very poor, just like its fishermen," says Abu Samir, a 68-year-old fisherman from the coastal city of Sidon, with a sigh. While hundreds of Lebanese families on the coast have traditionally depended on the sea for their livelihoods, many say they are now destitute and face mounting debts.

Abu Samir, his face dark from six decades of working in the sun, cites daily hardships faced by him and his fellow fishermen. "We're the ones working for their daily bread," he said.

"But increasingly, we don't catch anything." Some days, Abu Samir catches fish worth the equivalent of about US $13. "But not everyday – most of the time, it's less than that, or nothing at all," he lamented.

Local fishermen do not sell their catch to customers directly. They go to a fish market, which distributes the goods to individual customers. "Seafood is considered a delicacy here," said Abu Samir. "The fish I sold today for US $13 sells for at least US $100 in a restaurant."

Fishermen are contending with increasing amounts of sea pollution, which inevitably affects their daily catch. "In winter, waves hit the landfills on the coast, causing garbage to fall into the sea. Instead of catching fish, we catch garbage," said Abu Samir's colleague, long-time fisherman Abu Mohammed, 62.

As a result, fishermen must spend much of their profits on replacing torn nets, as well as on diesel fuel for their motor boats, explained Abu Samir. "Each piece of net costs the equivalent of about US $50, and we each need about 20 pieces," he said. "That's why you find fishermen going into debt."

Both men went on to complain about the rising number of new fishermen on the scene, and the illegal fishing methods they often employ. "Long ago, the number of fishermen was small. Now we have about 300 in Sidon alone," said Abu Mohammed. "Some of these use dynamite to catch fish, which hurts small fish and prevents them from growing and reproducing."

Another problem faced by fishermen is the threat from the navies of neighbouring countries. In May, for example, it was reported that the Israeli navy shot and detained a Lebanese fisherman inside Lebanese waters in the southern town of Tyre. Similar incidents have occurred repeatedly in past years, according to local people.

Additionally, since the withdrawal of the Syrian military from Lebanon in April 2005, the Syrian navy has arrested several fishermen under the pretext that they had breached Syrian territory. Fishermen have always been released after being interrogated, however.

Facing these myriad obstacles, fishermen lament a perceived lack of government support. "It's a shame that no one takes care of us," said Abu Samir. "Our children barely get proper schooling, and our living standards seldom change – and if they do, it's for the worse."

According to Minister of Agriculture Talal Sahili, his ministry met with a delegation of local fishermen last month. "We agreed that they should organise themselves and present their demands," Sahili told IRIN. "Then we'll see what we can do."

Sahili went on to cite some of the steps taken by the ministry to ease fishermen's plight. "We're thinking about finding suitable donors to help the fishermen financially; to buy big, well-equipped boats for them – but this idea's still under study," he said.

Sahili added that the ministry was currently coordinating with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to prepare a study on local sea life and marine wealth. "Someone from the ministry will be going to Italy next month for this purpose," he said. "With this study, we'll be able to take proper measures to help the fishermen."