Iran fishermen venture back to Hormuz despite fears of new fighting

Fishermen in Iran’s port city of Bandar Abbas on Aug 10. Nearly a dozen fishermen were killed off Bandar Abbas and nearby southern islands during months of fighting, according to Iranian media.

Iranian fishermen have resumed work in the Strait of Hormuz despite recent deadly fighting and ongoing risks. Many fishermen lost equipment and boats were damaged, forcing costly repairs amid dangerous sea conditions. Fishermen fear continued conflict but must return to sea to support their families with no clear resolution in sight. AI generated

BANDAR ABBAS, Iran - Aboard his boat moored along the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian fisherman Mohammad-Amin mended a torn fishing net after a long day in waters that have long sustained his livelihood, but are now shadowed by the threat of death.

It’s been less than a month since the 47-year-old resumed his routine of waking before dawn, heading out to sea and returning hours later with the day’s catch – a routine he had to put on hold during months of fighting between Iran and the United States in and around the strategic waterway.

During that time Mohammad-Amin exhausted his modest savings, all the while fearing that his small boat, anchored alongside dozens of others on the Bandar Abbas waterfront, would be destroyed by strikes.

“We had been idle for more than three months; it was simply impossible to go” out to sea, he told AFP as he carefully stitched nylon twine through his net.

Nearly a dozen fishermen were killed off Bandar Abbas and nearby southern islands, and 17 others from the neighbouring Sistan-Baluchistan province south of Hormuz went missing during months of fighting, according to Iranian media.

“It’s been about 20 days that we have been going back to sea,” Mohammad-Amin said, adding they could wait no longer.

“If we don’t (go), we will die of hunger and I have three children.”

The waterfront in Bandar Abbas, lined with modest cafes where residents escape the sweltering summer heat, was repeatedly hit during the nearly 40 days of intense fighting and the sporadic clashes that followed despite a ceasefire sealed on April 8 .

“They used to strike this place every day; it had become normal... but there was nowhere else to keep the boats,” said 53-year-old Hossein, who was among the fishermen who returned to sea as soon as the fighting eased even though many others remained ashore.

More than 2,000 fishermen from the southern Hormozgan province lost their fishing equipment during the fighting, the Iran Daily reported in late July, and hundreds of fishing and trade boats were damaged, according to ISNA news agency.

For Bagher Abbaszadeh, whose boat supports not only his own family but four others, the prospect of losing it was unimaginable.

“If they (the US) had hit the boat, that would have been it for us,” said the 39-year-old, also threading a damaged net through his hands.

Repairing torn nets has always been a common practice for fishermen, often after they become tangled on reefs, anchors or other underwater obstacles, but since the war it has become more frequent.

Mohammad-Amin says his nets now regularly snag on the wreckage of vessels damaged during the fighting and other war debris at sea, forcing him to replace equipment he can scarcely afford more frequently.

“We have replaced four nets so far (since we returned)... the sea was dirty before, and now it has become even worse with the wreckage of these ships,” he said.

Hossein says he cannot be sure exactly what is catching his nets.

“Several ships were hit and one of them was near the shore... but you cannot see what’s underwater, the net gets caught on rubbish and pieces of metal below the surface,” he said.

Abbaszadeh says he is living with constant uncertainty, seeing no clear end to a conflict now centred on the Strait of Hormuz, which has been under Iranian control since the war began.

Iran insists it will retain control of the strategic waterway, requiring vessels to seek permission and pay transit service fees – a move opposed by Washington and several regional countries.

“We are definitely worried about it (the war) starting again... whatever happens in the end, I hope it is in the interest of the ordinary people,” said Abbaszadeh.

While diplomats from Iran and Oman continue efforts to reach an arrangement over the strait , fishermen along Iran’s southern coast say they know little about the progress in negotiations – their main concern being whether they will be able to keep earning a living.

Hossein says he knows no other way to support his family and would return to sea even if the fighting resumed.

“We have no choice but to go back to sea. If we didn’t work, where would we get money?”

Mohammad-Amin, meanwhile, believes the conflict is far from over.

“This war is not going to end,” he said. “No side is willing to come to an agreement with the other.” AFP

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