Characterization of the Iraqi Artisanal Marine Fisheries, Northwest of the Arabian Gulf

The study described the characteristics of the Iraqi artisanal marine fisheries in the northwest Arabian Gulf between January 2020 and December 2021. The study aimed to update knowledge on the fish landings of the artisanal marine fisheries in the study area. A total of 19,877 t of fish were landed in 2020 and 13,784 t in 2021. A Student’s t-test showed a significant difference between the species’ landings over the two years. The main species exploited were mullets (10.5%), threadfin bream (10.4%) and spotted leatherskin (8.4%) in 2020, whereas threadfin bream (14.2%), mullets (9.6%) and tigertooth croaker (8.3%) were mainly landed in 2021. Unfortunately, the contribution of river shad catches has dropped to lower levels over recent years, comprising 3.6-5.8% of the total landings during 2020-2021. Shrimps contributed 15.6 and 16.1% of the total landings during 2020 and 2021, respectively, and mixed fish contributed 11.8 and 15.3%, respectively. The trends of the landings of the main fish groups increased substantially from 2011 to 2021. Unfortunately, the contribution of river shad (T. ilisha) catches has dropped to lower levels over recent years, in contrast with the contributions of other species. Therefore, the study recommends the following management measures for the river shad stock: to protect the brood stock during the breeding season no fishing should be allowed in the Shatt Al-Arab River during the main spawning migration from May to June and small T. ilisha (<23.0 cm) should not be caught.