Bangladeshi poor catch poisoned fish

DHAKA, Bangladesh -- Hungry people in Bangladesh gathered at sewage ponds floating with dead fish Saturday, ignoring warnings from authorities who poisoned the fish for fear it could be toxic to humans.

Authorities used a chemical derived from an herb to kill nearly six tons of fish at a sewage treatment plant on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka.

However, the fishermen hired by the plant to net and bury the fish were unable to finish the task by the end of Saturday.

When they left for the day, scores of people who live nearby in shantytowns rushed in to collect the remaining catch, about three-fourths of the total.

"I will eat some and sell some," Mokhles Ali, a 40-year-old day laborer, said as he stood knee-deep in one pond, trying to snare some of the dead fish floating past.

Ali said he and his family of five had eaten fish from the ponds before and it had not made them sick.

"It's free and it will be a feast for my family," said Ali, who like most Bangladeshis, lives on less than a dollar a day.

For years, plant workers used the sewage ponds for growing fish, either to eat or to sell.

Authorities banned the practice after discovering the fish contain harmful metals like lead and mercury and disease-causing germs like E. coli.

Then, to kill the fish, they poured an herbal extract into the ponds. The chemical asphyxiates fish by preventing them from drawing oxygen from water but is not harmful to humans, said Azharul Haq, managing director of Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, which runs the plant.

Bangladesh is one of the world's poorest countries. Nearly half the 130 million people don't get enough to eat every day.