Syria’s war affects tourism and fishing in Ja’bar Lake

Long ago, Ja’bar Lake used to be crowded with fishermen, since people there depend on fishing from the lake and selling fish to tourists who arrive in large groups to the castle, to enjoy it along the lake. The fishing and tourism sector in the area collapsed as the war kicked off in Raqqa and its countryside, the number of fishermen dropped, and the majority of boats were damaged and destroyed. According to the fishermen, before they used to catch roughly 50kg of fish a day in one round, which allowed them to purchase new boats and pay their expenses, as well as the fishing tools including nets that used to be cheap. The boats, at that time, used to run on the available diesel or gasoline. The fishing process in the lake, currently, is stalled owing to the fishermen’s inability to get motorboats; rather they use oars boats, in addition to their difficulty to purchase nets, hooks, and other fishing instruments. Add to that, the scarcity of tourism in the castle, neglecting it and the destruction of parts of it is a major reason for the lack of tourism in the lake.