Stock Assessment of Four Fish Species in the East Hammar Marsh, Iraq

Authors

  • Abdul-Razak M Mohamed Basrah University
  • Sadik A. Hussein
  • Falah M. Mutlak

Keywords:

Bleak, growth, condition, reproduction, Euphrates River

Abstract

Stock assessment of Planiliza abu, Carassius auratus, Tenualosa ilisha and Carasobarbus luteus in the Esat Hammar marsh, Iraq were assessed using FiSAT II software. Samples were collected from three sites: Harer, Salal and Burkah by five types of fishing gears from January 2009 to May 2010. P. abu and C. auratus were the most abundant numerically represented by 14.8% and 13.1% of the total catch, respectively, while T. ilisha and C. luteus comprised 6.1% and 2.2%, respectively. The growth and mortality parameters L∞, K, Z, M and F were 24.6 cm, 0.44, 3.27, 1.03 and 2.24 for P. abu, 42.3 cm, 0.27, 1.87, 1.87 and 1.22 for C. auratus, 57.1 cm, 0.33, 1.55, 0.68 and 0.87 for T. ilisha and 37.9 cm, 0.27, 1.59, 0.67 and 0.92 for C. luteus, respectively. The exploitation rate (E) estimates were 0.68, 0.65, 0.56 and 0.58 for P. abu, C. auratus, T. ilisha and C. luteus, respectively. The results revealed that all species were overexploited. Moreover these values exceeded the maximum allowable limit based on the yield-per-recruit calculation (Emax) for all species. It is necessary to enforce immediate fishing regulation measures on the fish stock in the investigated location and this can be assessed by activating the national law of fishing, exploiting and protecting aquatic resources.

Author Biography

Abdul-Razak M Mohamed, Basrah University

Department of Fisheries

College of Agriculture

References

Partow, H. 2001. The Mesopotamian Marshlands: Demise of an ecosystem. Nairobi (Kenya): Division of early warning and assessment, United Nation for Environmental Programs: UNEP publication UNEP/DEWA/, 103p.

Richardson, C. J. and N. A. Hussain. 2006. Restoring the Garden of Eden: An ecological assessment of the marshes of Iraq. BioScience 56 (6): 477-489.

Barak, N.A.A. and Mohamed, A.R.M. 1982. Food habits of cyprinid fish Barbus luteus (Heckel) from Garma Marsh. Iraqi J. Mar. Sci., 1: 59-66.

Barak, N.A.A. and Mohamed, A.R.M. 1983. Biological study of the cyprinid fish Barbus luteus (Heckel) in Garma Marshes. JBS., 14(2): 63-70.

Al-Mukhtar, M.A.1982.Biological studies on two fresh water species Barbus luteus (Heckel) and Aspius vorax (Heckel) in Al-Hammar marsh, Basrah. MSc. thesis, Basrah University, Iraq. 203p.

Mohamed, A.R.M. and Barak, N.A.E. 1988. Growth and condition of cypyinid fish, Barbus sharpeyi Gunther in Al-Hammar marsh, Basrah, Iraq. Basrah J. Agric. Sci., 2: 17-22.

Mohamed, A. R. M., and Ali, T.S. 1994. The biological importance of Iraqi marshes in fish growth. Pages 205-215 in N. A. Hussain, editor. Ahwar of Iraq environmental approach. MSC Publ. (18), 1994, 299 pp.

Mohamed A.R.M., Al-Saboonchi, A. A. and Fadia, K. R. 2014. Variability of fish assemblage structure in the East Hammar marsh, southern Iraq. JKAU: Mar. Sci., 25(2): 161-184.

Al-Shamary, A.C. 2008. Ecological assessment for South-East Al-Hammar marsh, north of Basrah. M.Sc. thesis, Basrah University, Iraq. 121p.

Hussain, N.A., Mohamed, A.R.M., Al-Noor, S.S, Mutlak, F.M., Abed, I. M. and Coad, B.W. 2009. Structure and ecological indices of fish assemblages in the recently restored Al-Hammar Marsh, Southern Iraq. Bio Risk, 3: 173-186.

Mohamed, A.R.M., Hussain, N.A., Al-Noor, S.S., Coad, B.W. and Mutlak, F.M. 2009. Status of diadromous fish species in the restored East Hammar Marsh in Southern Iraq. J. Amer. Fish. Soc., 69: 577-588.

Al-Noor, S.S. 2010. Population status of gold fish Carassius auratus in restored East Hammar Marsh, Southern Iraq. JKAU: Mar. Sci., 21(1): 65-83.

Mohamed, A. R. M. 2014. Stock assessment of freshwater mullet, Liza abu populations in the three restored southern marshes, Iraq. Croatian J. Fish., 72:48–54.

Al-Abbawy, D.A.H. and Al-Mayah, A.A. 2010. Ecological survey of aquatic macrophytes in restored marshes of southern Iraq during 2006 and 2007. Marsh Bulletin. 5: 177-196.

Lucena, F.M. and O’Brien, C. M. 2001. Effects of gear selectivity and different calculation methods on estimating growth parameters of bluefish, Pomatomus saltatrix (Pisces: Pomatomidae), from southern Brazil. Fish. Bull. 99: 432–442.

Gayanilo, F.C., Sparre, P. and Pauly, D. 2005. FAO-ICLARM Stock Assessment Tools II (FiSAT II). User’s guide.FAO Computerized Information Series (Fisheries). No. 8, Revised version, FAO, Rome, 168pp.

Pauly, D. 1984. Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: a manual for use with programmable calculators. ICLARM stud. Rev., (8): 325p.

Pauly, D. 1980. On the inter-relationships between natural mortality, growth performance and mean environmental temperature in 175 fish stock. J. Cons., 39 (3): 175-192.

Beverton, R. J. H. and Holt, S. J. 1966. Manual of methods for fish stock assessment. Part II. Tables of yield function. FAO Fish. Tech. Pap., 38 ver. 1, 67 p.

Pauly, D. and Soriano, M.L. 1986. Some practical extensions to Beverton and Holt’s relative yield-per-recruit model. In: First Asian Fisheries Forum, Asian Fisheries Society (eds. Maclean, J.L.; Dizon, L.B. and Hosillos, L.V.), pp. 149-495. Manila, Philippines.

Mohamed, A.R.M., Hussain, N.A., Al-Noor, S.S., Coad, B.W., Mutlak, F.M., Al-Sudani, I. M., Mojer, A. M. and Toman, A. J. 2008. Species composition, ecological indices and trophic pyramid of fish assemblage of the restored Al-Hawizeh Marsh, Southern Iraq. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology, 8 (2-4): 375-384.

Mohamed, A. R. M., Hussain, N.A., Al-Noor, S.S. and Mutlak, F. M. 2012. Ecological and biological aspects of fish assemblage in the Chybayish marsh, Southern Iraq. Ecohydrology & Hydrobiology, 12(1): 65-74.

Al-Mahmood, H. K. H, Hassan, W. F., Alhello, A.Z.A., Hammood, A. I. and Muhson, N. K. 2015. Impact of low discharge and drought of the water quality of the Shatt Al Arab and Al-Basrah Rivers (south of Iraq). J. Int. Acad. Res. Multidisciplinary. 3(1): 285-296.

Welcomme, R. L. 2001. Inland fisheries: ecology and management. Food and Agriculture Organization and Fishing News Books, Blackwell Science Ltd. 358p.

Mohamed, A. R. M. 2014. The status of himri fish, Barbus luteus (Heckel) population in the Al-Huwazah marsh, south Iraq. J. Zankoy Sulaimani-Part A, 16: 303-314.

Al-Noor, S. S. 1998. The reproductive biology of Tenualosa ilisha in Shatt Al-Arab and Iraqi marine waters. Ph.D thesis, Basrah University, Iraq. 164p.

Al-Hassan, L.A.L. 1999. Shad of the Shatt Al-Arab River in Iraq. Shad J. 4(2): 1-4.

Roomiani, L. and Jamili, S. 2011. Population dynamics and stock assessment of Hilsa Shad, Tenualosa ilisha in Iran (Khuzestan Province). J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 6: 151-160.

Hameed, H.A. and Aljorany, Y.S. 2011. Investigation on nutrient behavi-or along Shatt Al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq. J. Appl. Sci. Res., 7(8): 1340-1345.

Mutlak, F. M. 2012. Stock assessment of some fish species in east Hammar marsh. Ph.D. thesis, Basrah University. 193p.

Shawardi, A. A. 2006. Ecology and biology of Carassius carassius (L.1758) and Liza abu (Heckel, 1843) in Tharthar lake. Ph.D thesis: Al-Mustansiria University, Iraq. 142p.

Doğu, Z., Şahinoz, E., Faruk Aral, F. and Şevik, R. 2013. The growth characteristics of Liza (Mugil) abu (Heckel, 1843) in Atatürk Dam Lake. African J. Agri. Res., 8(34): 4434-4440.

Lorenzoni, M., Ghetti, L., Pedicillo, G. and Carosi, A. 2010. Analysis of the biological features of the goldfish Carassius auratus auratus in Lake Trasimeno (Umbria, Italy) with a view to drawing up plans for population control. Folia Zool., 59 (2): 142-156.

Mohamed, A.R.M., Ali, T.S. and Hussain, N.A. 2001. Stock assessment of hilsa shad Tenualosa ilisha in the Iraqi marine waters, Northwest Arabian Gulf. Marina Mesopotamica, 16 (1): 1-9.

Mohamed A.R.M. and Qasim, A. M. H. 2014. Stock assessment and management of hilsa shad,Tenualosa ilisha in Iraqi marine waters, northwest Arabian Gulf. Int. J. Fish. Aquat. Stud. 1(5): 1-7.

Hashemi, S.A.R., Mohammadi, G. and Eskandary, G. 2010. Population dynamics and stock assessment of hilsa shad, (Tenualosa ilisha Hamilton-Buchanan, 1822) in coastal waters of Iran (Northwest of Persian Gulf). Aust. J. Basic Appl. Sci., 4(12): 5780-5786.

Dutta, S.D., Maity, S., Chanda, A. and Hazra, S. 2012. Population structure, mortality rate and exploitation rate of Hilsa Shad (Tenualosa ilisha) in West Bengal Coast of Northern Bay of Bengal, India. World J. Fish Mar. Sci. 4 (1): 54-59.

Nikolsky, G.V. 1963. The ecology of fishes. Acad. Pres., London and New York, 352 pp.

Bartulovic, V., Glamuzina, B., Conides, A., Dulcic, J., Lucic, D., Njire, J. and Kozul, V. 2004. Age, growth, mortality and sex ratio of sand smelt, Atherina boyeri, Risso, 1810 (Pisces: Atherinidae) in the estuary of the Mala Neretva River (Middle-Eastern Adriatic, Croatia). J. Appl. Ichthyol., 20: 427-430.

Gulland, J. A. 1970. The fish resources of the ocean. FAO Fisheries Technical Paper, No. 97, FAO, Rome, 425 pp.

Jawad, L. A. 2006. Fishing gear and methods of the lower Mesopotamian plain with reference to fisheries management. Marina Mesopotamica, 1(1): 1-39.

Garstecki, T. and Amr, Z. 2011. Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management in the Iraqi Marshland. Screening Study on Potential World Heritage Nomination. IUCN, Amman, Jordan. 191p.

Downloads

Published

2016-06-16

How to Cite

Mohamed, A.-R. M., Hussein, S. A., & Mutlak, F. M. (2016). Stock Assessment of Four Fish Species in the East Hammar Marsh, Iraq. Asian Journal of Applied Sciences, 4(3). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJAS/article/view/3845

Issue

Section

Articles

Most read articles by the same author(s)