The Bahrain fishing officer demarche is an anecdote John Kiriakou tells about his posting in Bahrain, where as the embassy’s sole econ officer he was also, by default, its fishing, banking, aviation, and environment officer. In that capacity he was tasked with delivering a formal demarche — a diplomatic protest — to Bahrain’s deputy foreign minister, Ambassador Ghazi Algosaibi, over a U.S.-Canada dispute about whether clams legally count as fish.[1] The U.S. position, he says, was that clams are fish because they move more than 10 feet a day by opening and closing their shells, while Canada argued they are shellfish whose movement is aided by ocean currents rather than their own locomotion. The dispute grew serious enough, per Kiriakou, that the U.S. sent a naval vessel off the coast of western Canada.[2]
Bahrain fishing officer demarche
Kiriakou's account of serving, while stationed in Bahrain, as the embassy's econ officer and by extension its fishing, banking, aviation, and environment officer — including delivering a formal U.S. demarche to Bahrain's deputy foreign minister over a U.S.-Canada dispute about whether clams legally count as fish.
References
- ↑ Deep Focus, 2026-06-28 — 25:04 on YouTube · Transcript
- ↑ Deep Focus, 2026-06-28 — 26:07 on YouTube · Transcript
Categories: Cases