Fishing collapses in Najaf’s Kufa River as pollution and low water drive species to vanish

NAJAF — Fishing in the Kufa River has nearly collapsed as falling water levels, rising pollution, sewage discharge, and overfishing wipe out once-abundant species and force most fishermen to abandon their trade. Markets now rely heavily on imported frozen fish from Turkey and Iran.

In his boat on the river, fisherman Haider Mohammed recalled how his catch has all but disappeared. “Ten years ago, we used to catch 50 or 25 kilos of fish, but today there is nothing. The water is all polluted, and there are no fish anymore. Even the water itself has been stolen from us by pollution,” he told 964media.

“The pollution increased heavily and destroyed the fish wealth. This pollution is not simple, it affected humans and also our profession,” he said. “We are a family of fishermen since the days of my grandfather and father, and today even my son cannot continue. Ten years ago we used to come back with 50 kilos of fish, but today we do not get even one kilo. From morning until noon we work in vain and find no livelihood.”

Mohammed said prized species such as carp, katran, and bunni have vanished, leaving only smaller types like shank. “Fishing is not the same anymore. The water is little and full of pollution. Most fishermen left the profession, and now fish is imported frozen from Turkey and Iran. Its taste is not like the local fish.”

He said the number of fishermen in the Kufa River has dwindled from dozens who once sold large amounts in markets to just three or four men “barely earning their daily bread.” Many former fishermen have turned to construction work or driving taxis to survive.

“Today, the fishing profession in Kufa is almost finished,” Mohammed said.