Al-Qatfish

Kerry Howley | August 24, 2005

Like Brazilian terrorism, Vietnamese bioterrorism is one of those things you fail to notice until the authorities have taken care of it:

Alabama is joining Louisiana in banning the sale of a Vietnamese-imported fish that competes with U.S.-farmed catfish, agriculture officials said this week....All this follows a recent Mississippi State University study that showed basa were preferred over U.S.-farmed catfish in a taste test 3-to-1.

Jesse Chappell, a fisheries specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, said, "The apparent intent is to protect people from virulent infections and bioterrorism" but the effect in the short term will be to "create an even playing field" where U.S. catfish farmers can better compete.

More here.