It was a miracle that we got the second shot at it … with the hastily repaired net," he emailed.
From where I was sitting, I could see fishermen repairing nets and preparing for the evening's work.
The long sweep of beach here is brilliantly pristine, and the scene – fishermen with red betel-mouthed grins repairing nets beneath swaying palms – has changed little in decades.
The tattoos up his arms only add to his confident, quiet aura, as he builds or repairs nets with a cigarette dwindling in the corner of his mouth.
Those who cannot put out to sea from the ramshackle port in Gaza City sit in the rubble of the fishing warehouses, repairing nets for others, for a small fee.
The men go out to sea and if there is work available I do everything from tapping fish - that is, removing them from the nets - to repairing nets.
The message for control programs reliant on bed net distribution is therefore not only to seek to provide nets to households that do not have nets, but also to institute strategies for repairing nets, for replacing those that are in non-reparable condition, and to promote proper care and repair of nets to prolong their effective life.
Bare-chested fishermen in loincloths who were mending nets, repairing homemade wooden boats or just snoozing in the sultry heat perked up to listen.
But there was little sign of that as Zyad continued to repair his nets.
From 6 30 a.m. to 2 30 p.m. every weekday, the apprentices at the Brompton unload tractor-trailers, deliver materials, erect metal frames, lay down insulation and strap themselves into harnesses to hang and repair safety netting.
But it can work, Mr. Knutson said, if fishermen are allowed to sell their catch off the boat and if they are given enough space to repair their nets, to clean their engines, to get back and forth without delay.
