The wage for catching fish in a pond

Question

Question: If the owner of a pond calls the people of the neighbourhood and others to catch fish, or people come of their own accord, and they catch fish or have it caught on the condition that half goes to the pond owner and half to the one who catches it — in these cases is it permissible to fish or to have fishing done, or not? If it is permissible, then in what form?

Answer

The fish are not the property of the pond owner; rather they are the property of whoever catches them. Hence in the case asked about the pond owner has no right at all, and his fixing half of the fish for himself is contrary to the Shari‘a and impermissible: [ar]لا تصح الشركة في احتطاب واحتشاش واصطياد واستقاء وسائر مباحات، وما حصله[/ar] “Partnership (shirka)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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