The Species Composition of Some Marine Fish and Their Production in Basra Province

Abstract

Fishing and fish marketing are economic activities studied within the geography of agriculture, using a spatial distribution approach for fishing areas and production quantities. The study's objective is to review the species composition of marine fish within the administrative boundaries of the study area, which is defined as Basra Province and its administrative units at the district and sub-district levels. The importance of the study focuses on identifying the species marketed to private institutions that market the main and secondary fishery resources. The study reviews the production quantities by type throughout the year, highlighting both quantitative and qualitative variations in available fish quantities and their marketing in the province. The researcher employed two methodologies: the regional approach that identified the study region based on similar and homogeneous characteristics and the functional approach that deals with the economic activity of the phenomenon by identifying production quantities, types, and consumption quantities. The significance of studying fish production in Basra Province is evident due to the scarcity of comprehensive geographic studies on marine fish. The research concludes that there are 24 continuous species of marine fish produced in Basra Province, with variations in their capture from year to year. Several factors contribute to these variations, including primitive fishing methods, the biological status of the fish, their breeding and migration seasons. However, 9 species are widely circulated throughout the year, while 15 species appear and disappear due to their seasonal presence in fishing areas, with limited quantities affecting their economic importance in the market.