Kirkuk fish farmers report months of transport ban as costs mount

KIRKUK, Iraq — Fish farmers in Kirkuk say a months-long ban on transporting their production to other cities has driven up losses, with local officials confirming the decision falls outside their authority. Mansur Ahmed al-Bayati, director of the Kirkuk Livestock Training Hospital, said transport permits and bans are decided by the Ministry of Agriculture and that local authorities cannot act on their own. He added that the hospital has sent an official letter to the ministry proposing measures to facilitate transport, and that the ministry is reviewing the steps in line with health and veterinary rules. Al-Bayati noted that Kirkuk hosts around 800 fish ponds spread across the Dakuk, Laylan, Altunkopru and Dibis areas. He said the Ministry of Water Resources had previously ordered the closure of ponds using water without permits, and that some were shut down due to drought. Dakuk-based producer Hawkar Abdullah said the transport ban has led to stops at the Taza and Tuz Khurmatu checkpoints, leaving production to pile up in ponds in a district with daily consumption of only about 300 kilograms. She said other cities resumed transport roughly two months ago after obtaining the required permits, while Kirkuk producers have been waiting about five months for the restriction to be lifted. Fellow producer Yetime Abdullah Khalil warned that keeping fish in the ponds for extended periods raises feed and maintenance costs and threatens the viability of the projects, calling on authorities to issue transport permits as they have in other provinces.