The decimation of the fishing industry has acutely exacerbated the humanitarian crisis currently faced by Palestinians in Gaza, resulting in conditions that are increasingly unlivable. Due to the importance of the fishing industry to affiliated industries and economy in Gaza, the decline in the number of fishermen has, “significantly curtailed the livelihood of thousands of families.”85 The decline in yield has led to shortages in a food staple that is an important source of nutrition and protein for the population of Gaza,86 where 57 percent of households are food insecure.87 This shortage has in turn led to a hike in fish prices. The price of sardines – the most common fish in Gaza – rose from ten shekel ($2.75) per kilogram in 2008 to 20 shekel ($5.53) in 2012,88 placing the cost of sustenance for average families even higher. The denial of access to the sea as a resource for fishing significantly contributes to a coercive environment in the Gaza Strip. “We haven’t seen a sardine here for about three or four months, there aren’t many sardines these days. I think it’s because of the cold water, since we can only fish within the first five miles89 [9.26km] of the shore. They [Israel] had extended the fishing area to six miles [11km], but at first they only allowed us to fish within three miles [5.5km]. Now its five miles, but you won’t find fish until you get nine miles out [16km]. [I have been a fisherman] since 1962. In the 1970s, we used to fish huge amounts and export to the West Bank, Israel and everywhere. Some months we used to fish around 20, 25, 30, 40, or even 50 tons. Nowadays, believe me, in one month, we don’t even get one and a half or two tons. When I talk about the sea, my heart aches. I have a launch [a fishing boat] that I built in 1984, and I looked after it like it was one of my own children, because it’s how I earned a living. However, 10 or 15 days ago you probably heard about what happened to my cousin, Mohammad al-Hissi.90 He was out on my launch and an Israeli boat attacked him and completely destroyed my launch. This happened five and half miles out to sea. My cousin who was on board was 85 B’Tselem, “Restrictions on Fishing Range,” supra note 55. 86 Ibid.; B’Tselem, “Gaza Strip – Fishing,” supra note 84. 87 Power, Israel’s Deadly Catch, 18, supra note 65. 88 B’Tselem, “Restrictions on Fishing Range,” supra note 55. 89 The term miles in this testimony refers to nautical miles. 90 “Mohammad al-Hissi, a 33-year-old father of three, is presumed dead after he went missing when the Israeli navy sank the vessel on which he was working on 4 January;” see, Maureen Clare Murphy, “Gaza fisherman is second killed by Israel this year,” The Electronic Intifada, 16 May 2017, available at:https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/maureen-clare-murphy/gaza-fisherman-second-killedisrael-year; Mersiha Gadzo, “Who killed Gaza’s fisherman Muhammad al-Hissi?,” Al Jazeera, 7 May 2017, available at: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/04/killed-gaza-fishermanmuhammad-al-hissi-170413123311286.html 31