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                Certain specimens of the endangered Asian arowana have fetched up to $300k at auction. How did a fish become a status symbol?
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                    Sunday, January 24, 2021
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                The Hustle is proud to deliver original longform journalism to your inbox every Sunday. This work would not be possible without the support of our sponsor,
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                <h2 style="font-size: 30px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 120%; margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 25px;">
                 <strong>
                  The crazy market for the world’s most expensive pet fish
                 </strong>
                </h2>
                <p style="color: #737373; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; line-height: 120%; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px;">
                 Certain specimens of the endangered Asian arowana have fetched up to $300k at auction. How did a fish become a status symbol?
                </p>
                <p style="font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 120%; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 24px;">
                 <strong>
                  BY
                  <a style="color: #D62829; text-decoration: none; text-transform: uppercase;">
                   Zachary Crockett
                  </a>
                 </strong>
                </p>
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               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 On a foggy morning in February 2017, federal agents in an unmarked car pulled over a white Toyota Corolla in Orange County, California.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Guns at the ready, they cautiously approached the vehicle.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In the driver’s seat
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   sat
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 Shawn Lee, a 29-year-old clad in a black baseball cap. As the agents drew closer, they could see that he was cradling a large plastic bag.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Inside this bag was the subject of the manhunt. It wasn’t a brick of heroin, an illicit firearm, or a bundle of dirty money.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “What’ve you got in there?” one of the agents asked.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “Fish,” said Lee.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 And not just any fish: 8 writhing Asian arowana — the world’s most valuable aquarium pet.
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
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               <td>
                <img alt="Asian Arowana" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252FAsian_arowana.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Asian arowana retrieved from a sting operation in Orange County, California, in 2017. (US Fish and Wildlife Service, via court filings)
                </p>
               </td>
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               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 An endangered species in the wild, the Asian arowana is illegal to import, sell, and, in most cases, own in the US.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Every now and again, tales like Lee’s will surface in the news, shedding light on a bizarro black market.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But elsewhere in the world, the fish is a highly coveted (and perfectly legal) luxury good. They’re prized by Yakuza gang members in Japan, business magnates in China, and superfish collectors in Europe — and a single prime specimen can
                 <strong>
                  cost more than a Ferrari
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 How did this fish become such a hot commodity? Who controls the market? And why is it illegal on US soil?
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  How a swampy creature became swanky
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 For centuries, the Asian arowana was nothing more than a meal foraged from the blackwater rivers and swamps of Southeast Asia.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Aside from local markets in Malaysia, the fish wasn’t widely traded — and it certainly wasn’t desirable, or even recognizable, to most foreign aquarium enthusiasts.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Then, in 1975, everything changed.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 As Southeast Asia’s wetland habitats declined, Asian arowana began to dwindle in number.
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   CITES
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , a treaty that limits the trafficking of endangered wildlife, classified the Asian arowana as a threatened species.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The move was meant to ban commercial trade of the fish.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But according to
                 <strong>
                  Emily Voigt
                 </strong>
                 , who spent nearly a decade tracking down the story of the Asian arowana for her book,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   <em>
                    The Dragon Behind the Glass
                   </em>
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , it ended up having
                 <em>
                  exactly the opposite
                 </em>
                 effect.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “That official stamp of rarity totally backfired,” she tells
                 <em>
                  The Hustle
                 </em>
                 . “And it actually turned the fish into this limited edition luxury good.”
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252F20k.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 An arowana bought by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a price of 200m rupiah ($20k USD) swims during an exhibition in Jakarta in 2008. (ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Malaysian smugglers began sneaking Asian arowana into Taiwan. From there, the fish found its way to Japan, where it became a
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Veblen good
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 among Yakuza gang members.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In a bid to dampen this illicit trade, CITIES allowed farmers in Southeast Asia to legally breed, harvest, and sell Asian arowana. The logic was that a flood of new fish would drive down prices and make them a less desirable commodity.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But once again, things went off the deep end.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Over the ensuing decades, hundreds of arowana farms popped up throughout Indonesia and Malaysia and the fish all but disappeared from the wild.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Today, the Asian arowana’s largest market is in China.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Dubbed the “dragon fish” due to its shiny scales, long whiskers, and fierce disposition, the arowana has taken on a spiritual
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   aura
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “It has become this mystical creature that supposedly protects you and helps you make good business decisions,”Voigt tells
                 <em>
                  The Hustle
                 </em>
                 . “It’s thought to bring wealth and prosperity. There are even accounts of arowana leaping out of their tanks to warn of a bad omen.”
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Owners will go above and beyond to keep their fish aesthetically pleasing.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Dedicated “
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   fish beauticians
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 run profitable businesses performing
                 <strong>
                  plastic surgery
                 </strong>
                 on fish. In a bid to flaunt the most beautiful specimen, owners give their pets eye lifts ($90), chin jobs ($60), and tail alterations ($60).
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="performing surgery" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Fsurgery.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Gong Hengliang, who has been a “fish beautician” for 4 years, performs cosmetic surgery on an Asian arowana fish in 2020 in Lanzhou, China. (Photo by Gao Zhan/China News Service via Getty Images)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 This fanaticism has turned farm-bred Asian arowana (which are legal in most countries) into an estimated
                 <strong>
                  $200m/year global market
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  The $300k fish
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In the mid-1980s, an Indonesian printing executive named Tris Tanoto quit his job and bought 12 Asian Arowana for $170.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 With help from friends, he bought a small farm in East Jakarta, released the fish in a pond on the property, and, through trial and error, taught himself the art of breeding.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Today, Tanoto’s operation is one of at least
                 <strong>
                  250
                 </strong>
                 CITES-approved Asian arowana farms across Southeast Asia, the majority of which are centered in Indonesia and Malaysia.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 His company,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   PT Munjul Prima Utama
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , is one of Indonesia’s largest exporters of Asian arowana — particularly, the “Super Red,” a bright crimson varietal that is highly desirable to Chinese buyers, who view the color red as a representation of vitality and good fortune.
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="fish farms" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Ffarming.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Scenes from Tanoto’s farm in Indonesia. (Images via Toro Tanoto)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Each year, the company sells around
                 <strong>
                  1k
                 </strong>
                 of its 7k stock of Asian arowana, netting
                 <strong>
                  ~$3m USD in annual revenue
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 This works out to
                 <strong>
                  $3k per fish
                 </strong>
                 on average, but prices can vary tremendously based on a variety of factors:
                </p>
                <ul style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 12px;">
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   Coloration:
                  </strong>
                  The fish can be found in red, green, gold, and silver variations. But a market has emerged for “designer-bred” colors like Red Tail Golden Splendor, Violet Fusion Super Red, and Blue Base Golden.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   Pedigree
                  </strong>
                  : Fish bred from earlier generations of wild-caught arowana tend to fetch higher prices.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  <strong>
                   Fin size and head shape
                  </strong>
                  : Larger dorsal fins up the price.
                 </li>
                </ul>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Tanoto sells 8 varieties of Asian arowana, ranging in price from $1.2k to $5.5k. Once, he says he sold a “flawless” Super Red to a buyer in China for
                 <strong>
                  $30k
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Extremely rare Asian arowana can fetch up to
                 <strong>
                  10x
                 </strong>
                 that amount.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 A breeder in Malaysia who specializes in albino Asian arowana,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   purportedly
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 sold one of his stock to a high-ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party for
                 <strong>
                  $300k
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Some of these farms are so lucrative that they’re publicly traded corporations.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In her
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   book
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , Voigt tells the story of
                 <strong>
                  Kenny Yap
                 </strong>
                 (AKA, “Kenny the Fish”), a 55-year-old ex-pig farmer who — when not taking nude photos with his fish — runs Singapore’s largest arowana farm.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Yap’s company,
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Qian Hu
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , distributes fish to 80 countries, has 5 global export hubs, and is listed on the Singapore Exchange. In 2019, the firm sold ~
                 <strong>
                  $30m worth of fish
                 </strong>
                 and spawned more than 7k Asian arowana. (You can take a peek at the
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   annual report here
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 .)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Fkenny.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 Kenny the Fish takes dip with his arowana (Qian Hu)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 This potential for big paydays makes the trade extremely competitive — and often dangerous — for farm owners like the Tanotos.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “Competition is fierce and very unhealthy,” Tris’ son and business partner, Toro, tells
                 <em>
                  The Hustle
                 </em>
                 via email. “There have been a lot of frauds using our company's name, both locally and globally. They pretend to be us and send fake Arowana photos to global customers on social media.”
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Voigt says it’s not uncommon to hear tales of arowana-related sabotage, theft, and even murder. She calls the fish “an agent of chaos.”
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In 2004, a Malaysian shop owner was killed by thieves who were after his trove of 20+ Asian arowana. Armed robberies are frequent — and breeders often secure their lots with concrete walls, barbed wire, watch towers, and dogs.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Some farms also run elaborate international Ponzi schemes, selling the same fish to multiple clients around the globe.
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  The supply chain
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Rather than go directly to customers, many farms in Southeast Asia sell in bulk to dealers in other countries.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Among these dealers is
                 <strong>
                  David Carr
                 </strong>
                 , who runs
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Planet Arowana
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , a 100-tank speciality fish shop in London.
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="arowana babies" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Fcarr.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 David Carr displays a fresh harvest of Asian arowana babies in Malaysia, 2017. (Image via David Carr)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Carr, a 41-year-old ex-chef, first got into fish at 17. What began with guppies in a small glass bowl soon evolved into a school of African Cichlids in an 8-foot tank.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 One day, he asked himself:
                 <em>
                  “What is the most prestigious, most sought-after, most beautiful fish on the planet?”
                 </em>
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “I learned about the Asian arowana and became obsessed,” he says. “There’s nothing else like it. It’s the majestic dragon.”
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The Londoner moved to Malaysia, where he spent a year learning everything he could about the fish from local breeders. While there, he set up his own 55’x30’ pond with investors.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The process, he says, works like so:
                </p>
                <ul style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 12px;">
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  The pond is filled with
                  <strong>
                   20 arowana
                  </strong>
                  (6 males, 14 females).
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  At around 3 years of age, the fish “get jiggy.” Each female produces between
                  <strong>
                   10-80 eggs
                  </strong>
                  .
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  Every 2-3 months, baby fish (called fingerlings) are harvested.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  The fish are shipped to the UK and sold at ~4-6 months of age for between
                  <strong>
                   $300
                  </strong>
                  and
                  <strong>
                   $4k+
                  </strong>
                  each.
                 </li>
                </ul>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In captivity, Asian arowana can live for 25+ years, making the recurring cycle appealing to investors.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “It can be very lucrative if you do it right,” Carr told us. “People who invest $50k-$100k in Asian arowana ponds definitely get their return back.”
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Carr sells his arowana to buyers all over the world. In recent years, he says demand has expanded from Asia to the Western world.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “As soon as someone sees the Asian arowana, they fall in love,” he says. “When aquarists want one
                 <em>
                  belter
                 </em>
                 of a fish — the crème de la crème — they [trade] up and get one.”
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="Asian arowana color variations" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Fcolors.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 A few Asian arowana color variations: Super Red, 24k Gold, and Platinum. (Collage, via photos from Getty Images)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 <strong>
                  Glen Mickle
                 </strong>
                 , a 32-year-old carpenter who lives in Alberta, Canada, where Asian arowana are legal, got into the fish 6 years ago at a local auction.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 He started out with an
                 <strong>
                  $800
                 </strong>
                 Blue Base Golden Crossback which he named “Einstein.” Six months later, he splurged on a Super Red for
                 <strong>
                  $1k
                 </strong>
                 , then another, imported from Indonesia, for
                 <strong>
                  $1.7k
                 </strong>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “They’re my prizes,” he says of the fish.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Mickle created
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   United Arowana
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , a private Facebook group for “arowana lovers” that boasts ~19k members. The community is one of many hubs — including the forums
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Arofanatics
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 and
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Monster Fish Keepers
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 — where Asian arowana enthusiasts talk shop.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 One topic comes up particularly often: The illegal nature of the fish in the United States.
                </p>
                <h4 style="font-size: 17px; height: 100%; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; padding-top: 8px;">
                 <strong>
                  The black market
                 </strong>
                </h4>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 While Asian arowana are legally bought and sold in most international markets, buying and selling them is strictly prohibited in the US under the
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   Endangered Species Act
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 .
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 But that hasn’t stopped Americans — or breeders in Asia — from attempting to create their own underground fish pipeline.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “I know about 10 people in the US who own Asian arowana,” Mickle told us. “I would say it’s a lot more common than people think. It’s just not [talked about] as much, for obvious reasons.”
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="Asian arowana art" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Fshare2.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 The Hustle
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 The Fish and Wildlife Service has commandeered no shortage of Asian arowana busts over the past decade:
                </p>
                <ul style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 12px;">
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  In
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    2010
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  , 7 people were arrested in Los Angeles for attempting to smuggle in 12 juvenile Asian arowana from Indonesia.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  In
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    2011
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  , a 49-year-old Chinese food delivery driver was caught trying to import 16 fish from Malaysia to NYC in a suitcase.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  In
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    2014
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  , two men in San Diego were caught with 13 of the fish, which they were trying to sell on Craigslist for $2.8k each.
                 </li>
                 <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                  In
                  <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                   <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                    2018
                   </u>
                  </a>
                  , a Chicago chef was busted for trying to buy 24 Asian arowana for his home aquarium.
                 </li>
                </ul>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Most often, perpetrators receive a sentence of probation and fines of between $5k and $15k — a small fee to pay for the potential upside of such underground operations.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In one
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   case
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 , a smuggler paid a Vietnamese farmer $6.6k for 16 Asian arowana (
                 <strong>
                  $412 each
                 </strong>
                 ) and sold for them in the US for
                 <strong>
                  $1.9k a pop
                 </strong>
                 — a profit margin of 78%.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Setting up a deal like this requires secretive communication between smugglers in Southeast Asia and buyers in the US.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Both parties are well aware of the high stakes.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 A transaction between
                 <strong>
                  Shawn Lee
                 </strong>
                 (a 29-year-old from Garden Grove, California) and
                 <strong>
                  Mickey Tanadi
                 </strong>
                 (a breeder from Jakarta, Indonesia) began with the following
                 <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                  <u style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none; underline: none;">
                   exchange
                  </u>
                 </a>
                 over an international texting app:
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td>
                <img alt="message exchange" src="https://inboxflows.com/_/image/https%253A%252F%252Fsailthru-media.s3.amazonaws.com%252Fcomposer%252Fimages%252Fsailthru-prod-6ks%252Ftext4.jpg/?inbox_flows_img_sig=eyJwYXRoIjoiaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZzYWlsdGhydS1tZSJ9:1l3dqx:cfnBIlFZkvLU_s1bpt9uwdzz-9a7r8wdd0F0LkRcMjw" style="height: auto; max-width: 600px; padding-top: 10px; width: 100%;" width="600"/>
                <p style="color: #5f696c; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: italic; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 8px 5px 20px;">
                 A recreation of exact texts exchanged between Lee (blue) and Tanadi (gray) in 2017, via US District Court filings (The Hustle)
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
               <td class="h2020 ignore-defaults" style="padding: 0px 10px;">
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 Lee sent Tanadi a wire transfer for $2,550.
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 In turn, Tanadi secured 8 Asian arowana in water-filled plastic bags hidden inside ceramic pots. He shipped them to the US via DHL with a final text that may as well have been addressed to the fish themselves:
                </p>
                <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                 “...Don’t get caught.”
                </p>
               </td>
              </tr>
              <tr>
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                     first (and that’s how they win)
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                   </h4>
                   <p style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 5px 0px 10px;">
                    Unlike 99% of recruiters and employment agencies who care more about
                    <em>
                     their
                    </em>
                    commission than
                    <em>
                     your
                    </em>
                    happiness,
                    <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                     Placement
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                    works so well because they focus on you.
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                    That means:
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                    <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                     <a style="color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                      Setting alerts for your dream jobs
                     </a>
                     so you can be the first to apply
                    </li>
                    <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                     Hooking you up with recruiter-approved templates so your resume fits the role perfectly
                    </li>
                    <li style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 140%; margin: 0 0 0 15px; padding: 0px;">
                     Letting you hone your answers to the exact questions you’ll face in your interview
                    </li>
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                    And that doesn’t even include what you get with your
                    <a style="-webkit-text-fill-color: #d62829; color: #d62829; text-decoration: none;">
                     free month of Placement Plus
                    </a>
                    (like exclusive insider guides and templates).
                   </p>
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                    It’s a competitive job market out there -- give yourself one Robert Wadlow-sized leg up with Placement.
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