Five arrested for illegal electric fishing in Dhi Qar marshes

DHI QAR — The Dhi Qar Environment Directorate said Sunday that five people were arrested on charges of illegal fishing inside the Bani Saeed marshes, part of an ongoing push to protect fish stocks and migratory birds in the southern wetlands.

In a statement, the Environment Ministry said staff from the Dhi Qar Environment Directorate, working with the Euphrates Police Center in Suq al-Shukh district, detained the suspects during a joint operation in the Karma Bani Saeed marshes. Authorities said four fishing devices, seven electric generators and six boat engines used in the violations were seized.

Dr. Ali Wahab Ahmed, director general of the Southern Region Environment Protection and Improvement Department, said inspection campaigns with security forces are being stepped up in Suq al-Shukh and Karma Bani Saeed as part of a national plan to protect threatened species and stop illegal trade.

Muwafaq Hamed al-Taie, director of the Dhi Qar Environment Directorate, urged residents to report environmental violations through the ministry hotline or official channels, saying penalties will be enforced “to protect fish resources and migratory birds and maintain ecological balance in the wetlands.”

The clampdown in Bani Saeed comes amid wider monitoring of illegal hunting and bird trading in the Chibayish marshes, which form part of Iraq’s UNESCO-listed marshlands. On Dec. 3, 2025, the Environment Ministry said teams had documented attempts to hunt and sell protected migratory species and had launched coordinated enforcement measures with Dhi Qar Police.

At the time, Ahmed said migratory birds serve as a national environmental indicator and warned that violations during migration seasons directly threaten rare species that rely on the marshes as key crossing points. Al-Taie again called on residents and facility operators to report illegal hunting or trade, stressing that “strict penalties will be applied to the fullest extent of the law.”