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The guest on the episode is Raam Neri, a marine ecologist from Ben-Gurion University’s Eilat campus and a member of the “Sharks in Israel” association. Neri discusses his master’s thesis, in which he researched the illegal fishing of sharks and batoids (cartilaginous fish) in the Gaza Strip. The study, based on data collection from social media, provides a rare glimpse into Gaza’s fish market, the fishing methods in the Strip, and the effects of war and the blockade on the marine environment.
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Research method: Open-source intelligence
According to Neri, the research began following reports and photos that reached the “Sharks in Israel” association from the fishing port in Gaza. To collect data systematically, he adopted open-source intelligence (OSINT) methods. He located and followed the Facebook and TikTok pages of fish shops, merchants, and influential fishermen in the Strip. To do this, he learned Arabic and the local names of the various fish species.
The reason this method is particularly effective in Gaza, Neri explains, is the lack of electricity and refrigeration. Fish merchants must sell their fresh goods as quickly as possible. Therefore, they post videos and photos of the daily catch on social media as soon as it reaches the market, sometimes with a note showing the date to prove its freshness. This creates an almost complete daily record of what is caught and sold. The study collected data from the beginning of 2020 until January 2023, and the monitoring continued after the war broke out.
Sharks and batoids in the Gazan market
In Israel, all cartilaginous fish, including sharks, batoids (like stingrays and mantas), and guitarfish, have been protected species since 2005. In contrast, in Gaza, as in most countries in the region, similar fishing bans are not enforced.
The research shows that the entire catch of cartilaginous fish in Gaza is intended for local consumption. Unlike in the Asian market, where shark fins are a luxury item, in Gaza the fins are discarded or used as bait. Neri says that local beliefs have developed around eating shark meat, for example, that it strengthens men or that eating a male shark embryo ensures that the baby born will be a boy.
Overfishing and destructive methods
Fishing in Gaza, according to Neri, is unmanaged and unregulated. Fishermen use destructive and non-selective fishing methods, such as trawl nets that are dragged along the seabed, sweeping up everything in their path. As a result, about fifty percent of the catch is bycatch, meaning other fish and animals with no commercial value. But unlike in other places, in Gaza, even the bycatch reaches the market and is sold as food.
Paradoxically, the restrictions the IDF imposes on fishing zones create a kind of temporary marine reserve. In areas where fishermen are forbidden to enter, fish populations can recover, which probably prevents a total collapse of the ecosystem.
The impact of wars and the blockade on fishing
The study shows a direct link between the security situation and the extent of fishing and species diversity. After Operation Guardian of the Walls, when the permitted fishing zone was expanded to 15 nautical miles, fishermen reached deeper waters. As a result, they caught species they had not seen before and documented them on social media, asking what the fish was.
During the current war, the Gaza port and a large part of the fishing fleet were destroyed. Fishing has been reduced to small boats (hasakeh) near the coast. The catch now consists mainly of small, young fish, which indicates fishing for nutritional survival. Prices in the market have soared. For example, the price of a kilogram of guitarfish, a critically endangered species, jumped from 20 shekels before the war to 100 shekels. Neri notes that all the documented transactions were in shekels.
Pollution and poisonous fish
Neri warns that the waters off the coast of Gaza are highly polluted, partly due to the collapse of sewage treatment systems. Heavy metal pollution accumulates in the bodies of apex predators like sharks, and this process, known as bioaccumulation, makes their meat dangerous to eat.
In addition, the poisonous pufferfish is common in the Mediterranean and also reaches Gaza’s markets. The fishermen are aware of the danger and post warnings about it. Neri says that through such posts, he found the Facebook page of the Hamas naval police, whose duties include enforcing the ban on selling poisonous fish.
The fate of the fishermen
Neri says that about a third of the social media pages he followed ceased activity after October 7. Many of the fishermen, young residents of refugee camps, were killed in the war. During the ceasefire, he recognized many of them in photos of the dead posted online by residents who returned to their destroyed homes. Despite this, some fish shops have reopened and resumed advertising their goods using the exact same method.
The original episode, in Hebrew: הכרישים של עזה