SAUMON: Thers something fishy in Denmark, Scotland, there too

Prague Residents Empty Bathtubs for Traditional Holiday Carp Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- For Jana Dvorakova, Christmas wouldn't be the same without a carp swimming in her bathtub.

Every year, the 56-year-old pensioner from Prague buys the freshwater fish for dinner from vendors with 800-liter vats parked on street corners. Now the Czech tradition is under threat from the European Union's hygiene laws, animal-rights protestors and competition from supermarkets such as Tesco Plc.

In the Czech capital alone, more than 300 vendors sell the fish from tanks, bludgeoning and gutting them on the spot or selling them live. Czechs use the carp to make soup and fried slices of fish in batter, served with potato salad for their evening meal on Dec. 24, when Christmas is celebrated.

``I have always bought Christmas carp on the street,'' Dvorakova, whose family used to give up showering for two days while the carp occupied the bath, said in a Dec. 15 interview from her home. ``So have my parents and their parents. It is one of our family's Christmas rituals.''

The Czech Republic produces more carp per person than any other country in what's become a 1.2 billion-koruna ($50 million) industry. Health inspectors are concerned about cleanliness because blood and water flows down the streets from where the fish are killed, and freezes.

``I know it's a big tradition, but I would prefer seeing the fish sold in regular shops, with the necessary facilities and sanitation standards,'' Hana Hamkova, the head of Prague's Veterinary Inspection, said in a Dec. 14 telephone interview. ``It is traditionally a headache for all of us every Christmas.''

16th Century Ponds

While carp is also traditional in Hungary, Slovakia and parts of Poland and Germany, those countries trail the Czechs in enthusiasm for breeding the fish.

The Czech Republic and Hungary, both landlocked, produce about 20,000 tons of fish annually, according to Eurofish, a trade organization based in Denmark. About 88 percent of that is carp in the Czech Republic compared with 50 percent in Hungary.

About half of the Czech production comes from the southern part of the country, near the town of Trebon, where a system of interconnected ponds was built in the 16th century.

Foreign supermarkets including London-based Tesco, Britain's biggest chain, and Paris-based Carrefour SA, Europe's largest retailer, use local customs when it comes to fish sales.

Tesco, based just outside London, on Dec. 16 started selling carp from vats near 33 of its 35 Czech supermarkets, according to Eva Williams, Tesco's spokeswoman in Prague. ``This is the traditional way of selling carp and our customers still demand that,'' Williams said in a Dec. 20 interview.

Bathing Carp

Animal rights activists, including Animal Freedom, Protection of Farm Animals and Freemind, said about 2 million carp suffer every year for Christmas. The carp show symptoms of stress and get injured during their time in the confines of the street vats, Animal Freedom said on its Web site.

The groups campaigned in Prague on Dec. 19 for an end to street sales, distributing stickers with slogans such as ``Don't celebrate Christmas by killing carp!''

The street vending may disappear to covered markets and stores as inspectors enforce EU hygiene rules and protesters get more organized, said Jan Kouril, deputy director at the Fishing and Hydrobiology Research Institute, a department of South-Bohemian University. The Czech Republic joined the EU on May 1, 2004.

The custom of eating carp goes back centuries and emerged from Czechs fasting for Christmas and then introducing meals without meat, before adding fish. For some, the attitude toward fish is changing as Czechs become more used to packaged meats.

``A young family from a city is less likely to buy a live carp and keep it in a bathtub,'' said Kouril in a Dec. 7 telephone interview. ``They prefer to buy fish that is perfectly packaged and no hassle.''



To contact the reporter on this story:
Marek Miler in Prague on at
m.milerbloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 21, 2005 19:10 EST