Th e aim of the present study is to determine the species composition, the structure of the fi sh assemblages, and to develop ecological indices in the restored east Al-Hammar Marsh. Fish were collected from October 2005 to September 2006 at two stations (Mansoury and Burkah). Fish samples contained freshwater species, both native and alien, and marine species. Th irty-one species were collected, eleven of them marine, the rest freshwater. Native species numbered 14 (45%), alien species 6 (19%) and marine species 11 (36%). Resident species formed 32.2%, seasonal species 16.0% and occasional species 51.6% of the fauna. Th e abundance of species varied, Liza abu being the most dominant species, with Carassius auratus ranking second and Acanthobrama marmid ranking third, comprising 35.8%, 23.6% and 10.6% respectively. Ecological indices were as follows: diversity ranged from 1.07 in November to 2.01 in July, richness ranged from 0.74 in December to 2.83 in July, and evenness ranged from 0.48 in November to 0.84 in December. Th e highest monthly similarity was in May at 77% and lowest in December at 29%. Water temperature showed medium correlations (0.62 and 0.58) with both the number of species and the total catch, respectively, while salinity exhibited weak positive correlations (0.05 and 0.26) with both the number and the total catch of species, respectively. Temperature is related to species number, presumably as a surrogate for many other seasonal changes.

The study was conducted to analyze the fish landings from Iraqi artisanal marine fisheries, northwest Arabian Gulf from January 2017 to December 2019. The monthly data of fish landings were collected from the main landing site at Al-Fao port, south Iraq and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. A total of 35 taxa in 18 families were identified in the artisanal catches, in addition to two species of shrimps. The highest total landings were 11,944 t in 2018 and 11,305 t in 2019. The annual total landing of the marine fisheries increased by 270% during 2017-2019 as compared with the annual landing during 2008-2016. Threadfin bream contributed 14.1%, followed by river shad (11.1%) and mullets (11.1%), whereas shrimps formed 15.2% to the total catch. The overall values of biomass diversity of fish ranged from 1.82 in 2017 to 2.85 in 2018. There were 320 registered fishing boats motorized by 65 to 950 hp. Multi gears fishing were observed. The trends of the landings of all fish groups were increased substantially, except river shad, threadfin bream and shrimps. The study suggests some of the management measures must be put into place, especially for the river shad in the regions of their migration reproductive and the nursery.

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In 2018, a serious changes in the salinity of the Shatt Al-Arab river, as salinity intrusion progressed further to upper reaches of the river due to sharply decline in river flow. Therefore, the fish assemblage structure in the middle of the river, from  Sindbad and Abu Al-Khasibs was assessed during the period from January to December 2018. Fish were sampled by gill nets, cast net and electro-fishing from both sites. Salinity fluctuated from 2.0‰ (January) in both sites to 16.2 and 25.0% during August in both sites, respectively. 35 and 44 fish species were collected from both sites, respectively, these included 18 marine species in first site and 28 marine species in second site. Poecilia latipinna, Tenualosa ilisha and Oreochromis aureus were the dominant species in first site, whereas O. aureus, Carassius auratus and P. latipinna in second site. The index of species richness, diversity and evenness each showed a consistent seasonal pattern in both sites. The highest value of Bray-Curtis similarity index of fish species between both sites was noted during the period of low salinity. Findings indicate that the salinity values and the percentages of marine and occasional species were considerably higher than that documented in the previous studies on this part of the  river. 

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Cichlids are invasive fish to Iraqi waters and became well established and prevailing in different waters. Despite that, there is no stock assessment study conducted for these fish. So, growth, mortality, recruitment and yield-per-recruit of two cichlid’s species; Coptodon zillii and Oreochromis aureus from the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq were evaluated from November 2015 to October 2016 using the FiSAT software. A total of 1285 C. zillii (2.9-24.0 cm TL) and 1353 O. aureus (4.5-25.0 cm TL) were examined. Length-weight relationships were derived, indicating allometric growth for both species. The growth parameters (L?, K, Rn, to and ?) obtained for C. zillii were 25.5 cm, 0.320, 0.212, -0.793 and 2.318, respectively, while for O. aureus were 27.8, 0.490, 0.214, -0.271 and 2.578, respectively. The annual rate of total mortality (Z), fishing (F) and natural (M) for C. zillii was found to be 1.51, 0.84 and 0.68 respectively, and for O. aureus 2.49, 1.08 and 1.41, respectively. The present exploitation rates (Epresent) for C. zillii and O. aureus were computed to be 0.454 and 0.57, respectively. Lengths at first capture (LC) were 12.97 cm for C. zillii and 13.25 cm for O. aureus. The peaks of recruitment of C. zillii and O. aureus were from February to May and May to July, respectively. The Epresent for C. zillii and O. aureus were below the biological target reference points (F0.1  and Fmax), indicating that these species were not overexploited. For management purposes, more yields could be obtained by an increase in the fishing activities on cichlids.

Food composition and feeding relationships of four mullet species, Planliza abu, P. subviridis, P. klunzingeri and Osteomugil speigleri from the Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq, were assessed during 2016-2017.Fish were captured by gill nets, cast net and electro-fishing. The index of relative importance (IRI%) of food item was determined by combined the frequency of occurrence and points methods. Monthly variations in feeding activity and intensity of all species were observed. All species were herbivorous and P. abu and  P. klunzingeri were considered non-specialized feeders, while P. subviridis and O. speigleri were low specialist feeders. P. abu fed mainly on diatoms (38.6%), high plants (21.7%), algae (15.9%), detritus (15.3%), fish eggs (6.9%) and zooplankton (1.6%).The diet of P. subviridis constituted from diatoms (42.2%), high plants (20.9%), detritus (17.7%), algae (15.9%), zooplankton (2.0%) and fish eggs (1.8%). P. klunzingeri fed mainly on diatoms (35.5%), high plants (29.3%), detritus (16.4%), algae (13.4%), fish eggs (4.1%) and zooplankton (2.4%). O. speigleri were consumed mainly diatoms (52.0%), detritus (17.8%), algae (16.6%), high plants (10.7%), zooplankton (2.5%) and fish eggs (2.4%).Similarity dendrogram among fish species based on their diet showed high significant overlaps among the mullet species. It means that these species might be in direct competition for food in the Shatt Al-Arab River.

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