Palestinian fisherman Abu Mohammed al- Hissi, 52, was called by his friends "the Sindibad of Gaza" for his great adventures and baldness to sail out tens of miles off Gaza Sea, chasing swarms of fish and sardines.
But things have drastically changed since Israeli soldier Gila'd Shalit was abducted by Palestinian militant groups in June, 2006, leading Israel to impose tough restrictions on fishermen.
Israel limited the fishing area to three miles from the shoreline that it was used to be 20 miles before, making it impossible to Gaza's Sindibad and some 3,000 others of his colleagues to catch much fish as they used to.
"I have to make my living on Gaza's waters. Things have been worsening many years ago. Not since the Intifada (Uprising) started, or since Hamas won the elections, or even since Shalit was abducted," said Hissi.
He is the only breadwinner of 43 of his extended family. "Believe me things have been so bad since the peace accords were signed, life has become harder."
The siege on Gaza was intensified after Hamas seized Gaza forcibly as it defeated rival Fatah a year and a half ago. Israel shut down the commercial Karni crossing and the Rafah Border Crossing with Egypt.
Al-Hissi said while he was watching the Israeli naval vessels patrolling Gaza sea, he thinks that three thousand Gaza fishermen are all partially operating in a tiny area and there is no more fish left.
He added that "two or three years ago, I used to sell fish for 500 dollars a week, but now one would be lucky if he catches fish for five dollars."
Restrictions on the movements of Palestinian fishermen are not the only obstacle facing them. Israeli gunboats are also considered a hazard to the Palestinian fishermen as they shoot at fishing boats and force them back to shore or detain fishermen on board.
Even after an Egyptian brokered truce was reached by Hamas and Israel last June, business has not been better for Gaza fishermen.
"We expected things might change better after the truce, but nothing has changed, they still shoot at us and sometimes detain us for long hours and force us to strip off and swim back to the shore," he added.
According to local fishermen and fishing industry sources, the Israeli restrictions and harassment on Palestinian fishermen have adversely affected their livelihood.
"The restriction policy significantly scaled down the amount, size, and variety of fish that fishermen can catch," said Tareq Saqer, Director General of Fishing Resources in the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture.
"The fishing sector has witnessed stern instability during the past five years. This is mainly because of Israeli restrictions imposed on fishermen," Saqer said, adding that "Israel naval soldiers shoot at any boat trying to exceed the 3-mile fishing area, which is stumpy and out of rocks that fish take as shelters."
Saqer also said that the "unjust restrictions" placed on Palestinian fishermen would cost the fishing sector millions of dollars in fishing equipment destroyed by Israeli naval forces, in addition to millions more income would be lost from fish sales.
Every Palestinian fisherman has his own story about Israel's harassment and inhumane practices on them.
Mahmoud Abu Assi, 37, a fisherman and a father of eight children, is striving to provide his family with the basic requirements they need that became, in the light of Israel's restrictive policy, even harder and harder to get.
Abu Assi, who inherited three boats from his father, hoped to own a fleet and enlarge his business, but the situation never helped, moreover, he lost one of his motorboats under Israeli fire, while the other two are idle in Gaza's only pier.
"I was going to buy more boats, but after the Intifada fishing has been the job of loss not of making money," Abu Assi said while he was getting scum bond out of his net instead of fish.
Abu Assi used to employ 10 fishermen before, now he has only two workers work with him. He continued that "even if I had money to buy new boats, and other fishing facilities, there has to be free water to catch as much fish as I can to cover the costs of the boats and my workers."
"With this money I cannot afford to pay my workers - let it alone support my family," he said. "I wish we had a real Palestinian state where we control our borders and had our own territorial waters," Abu Assi expected.
However, Eiad Bakr, 27, one of his workers, sees nothing is getting better. "If we declare a state later, as Palestinian President Abbas says, it would just mean stricter border controls by Israelis," Eiad said, ironically smiling.
"If it came true, you can return home with empty-handed waiting for years to come," said Eiad, joking with his boss.