ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Fish farmers in Kirkuk have lost up to two billion dinars ($1.25 million) after a lethal virus killed an estimated 300,000 fish over the past two weeks. “I alone have lost 50,000 fish, and two of my friends have lost a total of 180,000 fish. If each fish weighs one and a half kilograms, it adds up to how many tons? We rely on fish as our primary source of income. There are thousands of families in Daquq who depend on fish for their livelihood,” Emad Baqi, a fish pond owner, told Rudaw. There are about 5,000 ponds in the Daquq area of Kirkuk and the virus has affected only about a dozen, but farmers are scrambling to save their fish and prevent the disease from spreading. Pond owners whose fish have been hit by the disease are selling off their healthy fish for cheap. Farmers say they are not getting help from the government. "The government bears the primary responsibility. Instead of assisting us, the government is obstructing us and impeding our efforts. There is no medical team available, and we are unable to access medicine," said Shuan Tahir, another fish pond owner. "When I went to the health center to obtain a license for transportation, I was told there were no licenses available. Any fish that dies in the pond is a financial loss. And for the ones that survive, we are forced to sell them at half the usual price,” Tahir added. Daquq is a hub of fish farming in Iraq. Grilled fish known as masgouf is Iraq’s national dish. The virus impacts the stomach and lungs of fish and there is no known cure. In 2018, millions of fish south of Baghdad were killed by a strain of herpes, likely exacerbated by overstocked fish farms and polluted water.
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