ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – The security measures imposed by the government forces impede the access of fishermen in the eastern countryside of Aleppo to fishing sites, and push them to work in secret in light of their fear of punishment
Government security agencies, since their retaking of the region after battles with ISIS in 2017, have designated the local lake and river as military areas that cannot be approached, but the law does not apply to all.
Fishing is not for all
Abdulrahim Khalaf, (a pseudonym), a fisherman from the town of Sukkariyah in the eastern countryside of Maskanah, told North Press, “Before the crisis, we used to work in fishing with my family, and the work brought us reasonable profits, which are considered an important source of income for us and the rest of the people of the village.”
Residents of the region consider fishing an inherited profession with good financial returns, given the lake which is close to the village and rich in fish.
“The security services issued a decision to ban fishing, and this decision includes all the people of the eastern countryside, except for a few fishermen,” Khalaf added.
Khalaf pointed out that these fishermen are protected by the security services in exchange for a share of the profits of their catches.
Fishing monopoly
Daham Suleiman, a fisherman from the town of Shuaib Dakr, located on the western shores of Lake Assad to the southeast of Maskanah, shares the suffering with Khalaf, as he is also forbidden from fishing as a result of the measures taken by the government security services.
“Entry to the lake and the Euphrates is restricted to fishermen who carry security clearances and are affiliated with powerful people,” Suleiman told North Press.
Suleiman pointed out that entering Lake Assad and the Euphrates River is conditional on the exclusive sale of fish to merchants who are responsible for security, and no fisherman may sell even one kilogram without consulting the merchant.
“The fisherman, when he comes to the water, is accompanied by security forces waiting for him on the bank, and when he finishes, he sells his catch to a local merchant who is affiliated with the security services,” he added.
The prices of one kilogram of fish vary, whether it is carp, shabout, or other types of fish found in the Euphrates, and merchants affiliated with the security services buy them at an amount ranging between 1,800 SYP and 2,000 SYP, according to Suleiman.
“The quantities that the merchants buy go to the markets of Aleppo, and one kilogram is sold between 6,500 SYP and 8,000 SYP and the profits are shared with the influential people of the security,” he said.
Secret fishing
In order to secure their needs due to the government ban, fisherman have tried to circumvent the security services and enter the lake and river in secret, far from the eyes of those agencies and their fishermen.
Abu Hussein Majdami (a pseudonym), a fisherman from the town of Khafsa, which is located on the northwestern outskirts of Lake Assad, in the eastern countryside of Aleppo, told North Press that “the security ban and the risks involved in fishing operations have not prevented some fishermen and the people of our areas from benefiting from the abundance of fish in their vicinity.”
“Many of them depend on night fishing under cover of darkness, and in areas not far from the bank, using small nets without risking going into the water using the boat, because the government security and military forces’ points and detachments shoot at any object moving in the lake,” he added.
The fisherman, who works in secret, notes that the quantities that he catches secretly are scarce and not enough, and they are only for domestic consumption.
“But we have no choice. The enormous wealth of fish in Lake Assad is the preserve of a group of influential people who steal our power from us by using influence, power, and the authority of the security services,” he says.