Scientific study at the University of Basrah on the effect of alien fish on local fish species in southern Iraq
Dr. Abdul Hussain Jaafar Abdullah, a researcher at Marine sciences center at Basrah University, provided a scientific study on the effect of alien fish on local fish species in southern Iraq.
The study aims to identify the types of alien fish and their abundance in the areas of the Al-Jabbayesh marshes and the lower parts of the Euphrates and Upper Shatt Al-Arab.

The study included a review of ten newly recorded species of alien fish, including three species belonging to the Tilapia family, which are the Oreochromis niloticus, Oreochromis aureus, and Coptodon zillii, has five species that belong to the family of Carp, which are Carassius auratus, Ctenopharyngodon idella, Cyprinus Carpio and Alburnus sellal, and Hypophthalmichthys nobilis and two other types of families, Heteropneustes fossilis and Gambusia holbrooki.

The results of the study showed that the prevalence of these alien fish affects changing the composition of the local fish community, causing it to decline to uncharacteristic levels and the disappearance of some local fish such as luciobarbus xanthopterus and Mesopotamian himri, in addition to helping some other factors such as building dams that contributed to the fragmentation of environments and creating an appropriate environment for the growth and reproduction of these fish.
The study recommended supporting the local fish stocks through the release of fingerlings of luciobarbus xanthopterus, Mesopotamian himri and Carp, preventing the leakage of ornamental fish into local waters, activating the laws to prevent hunting in the breeding season, storing torrents water, and launching them at the scarcity, forming a supreme authority to manage rivers, preserve them from pollution, and establish water reserves.