Catching fish from an owned pond

Question

Question: Many people in this area have ponds dug on their land and raise all kinds of fish in them, small and large; when needed they take them out, sell them and eat them. One night Zayd quietly went and brought back fish without permission. People objected that bringing the fish without the owner’s permission is not permissible. He says: “Fish belong to whoever catches them; my catching them and bringing them is permissible.” What is the ruling of the Sharia?

Answer

When one has a pond dug on one’s land and brings fish, puts them into it and raises them, those fish become the owner’s property; no one has the right to catch them without the owner’s permission. However, fish that came into being by themselves, as is usually the case in rivers and lakes, everyone has the right to catch.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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