Iraq's fish farmers take to arms (against organised fish rustlers)

[Barrett808]

Iraq's fish farmers take to arms
January 23, 2004
By AFP

Kitayfan - Gun battles are still being fought in the windswept badlands south of Baghdad, but not over oil, land, religion or politics. This time it's fish.

On the salty flats of Kitayfan, an area of scrub 65 kilometres from the capital, no crops grow in the barren earth, but innovative landowners have created a sub-aquatic success, digging broad, shallow pools to farm fish.

The freshwater harvests are good business in Iraq, with farmers able to earn more than 12 million dinars ($8 500 or about R60 350 or ) in six months from a single pool the size of a hockey field. Iraqis earn an average of $60 (R426) a month.

However, in a country where crime is endemic, particularly in the wake of last year's US-led invasion, the lucrative business has spawned a new industry of organised fish rustling, with criminals willing to kill for their scaly swag.

"They took everything I had. They took my clothes, my money, they threatened to kill me and then they took the fish," said Abdul Muttawali, who was guarding the Kitayfan pond complex last April when thieves first descended.

(more)

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