Basrah Journal of Agricultural Sciences

During the period from July 2006 till the end of June 2007, a total of 471 fish specimens belonging to 24 species from the Euphrates River at Al-Musaib city were inspected for parasites. Among the 65 parasite species recorded from these fishes, two monogeneans were recorded for the first time in Iraq. These were: Dactylogyrus dogieli Gussev, 1953 from five fish species (Carassobarbus luteus, Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi, Alburnus sellal, Cyprinion kais and Ctenopharyngodon idella) and Octomacrum europaeum Roman & Bykhovskii, 1956 from three fish species (C. kais, C. macrostomum and Garra rufa). Full description, measurements and illustrations of both monogenean species are given,in addition to the deposition of slides of these two parasites in the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum, University of Baghdad. With these two records, the total number of valid Dactylogyrus species from freshwater fishes of Iraq reached 77 and the total number of monogeneans of freshwater fishes of Iraq reached 144 species.

Surveying the literature concerning the occurrence of the monogeneans of the genus Gyrodactylus parasitizing fishes of Iraq indicated that there are 25 nominated species of this genus on 29 fish species. These are: G. baicalensis, G. barbi, G. ctenopharyngodontis, G. cyprini, G. derjavini, G. elegans, G. gobioninum, G. gussevi, G. katharineri, G. kherulensis, G. lavareti, G. longoacuminatus, G. macracanthus, G. malmbergi, G. markevitschi, G. medius, G. menschikowi, G. molnari, G. aff. mugili, G. salaris, G. shulmani, G. sprostonae, G. taimeni, G. vicinus and G. vimbi. All these species infected freshwater fishes, except G. aff. mugili which infected two marine fishes found in brackish waters. In addition to these species, some unidentified specimens of this genus were reported from 15 fish hosts among which five fish species showed no infection with any of the above nominated species of Gyrodactylus while the others showed mixed infection. Such unidentified Gyrodactylus species were recorded from 12 freshwater fishes as well as three marine fishes found within the freshwaters of Basrah province. Among Gyrodactylus species, number of hosts ranged from one host for 15 Gyrodactylus species to a maximum of 23 hosts in case of G. elegans. The distribution of the infection ranged from one parasite species in 14 fish hosts to a maximum infection with 21 Gyrodactylus species in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio).

The literature review on monogeneans of freshwater and marine fishes of Basrah province, Iraq indicated the presence of 54 monogenean taxa from 18 freshwater fish species, 11 marine fish species and five marine fish species entering fresh waters. Among these parasites, the monopisthocotyleans are represented with 26 valid species as well as eight parasites which were identified to the generic level only, while the polyopisthocotyleans are represented with 14 valid species as well as six parasites which were identified to the generic level only. The total number of monogenean species for each fish species ranged from a minimum of one parasite species in 11 fish hosts to a maximum of 14 parasite species in only one host (Silurus triostegus). The monogenean species richness ranged from their infection of one host in case of 33 monogenean species to the infection of 16 hosts in the case of the infection with Dactylogyrus vastator.

The literature review on trematodes of freshwater and marine fishes of Basrah province, Iraq indicated the presence of 54 trematode taxa. Ninteen species of such trematodes were recorded from freshwater localities, while the remaining species were reported from marine localities. All these trematodes belong to the subclass Digenea except Aspidogaster enneatus which belongs to the subclass Aspidogastrea. All the reported trematodes are adults living in the stomach and/ or intestine of their hosts except Transversotrema haasi which was found in the skin, while eight species occurred as larval stages (metacercariae) in skin, gills or eyes of their hosts. The total number of trematode species for each fish host species fluctuated from a minimum of one trematode species in 13 fish hosts to 15 trematode species in Silurus triostegus only. Number of fish hosts reported for these trematodes fluctuated from one host in case of 32 species to 22 hosts in case of Ascocotyle coleostoma.

Reviewing the literature on all the cestodes parasitizing freshwater and marine fishes of Basrah province, Iraq indicated the presence of 30 cestode taxa. Eleven species of such cestodes were recorded from freshwater localities, 18 from marine localities and one species from marine, brackish and fresh waters. All these cestodes belong to the subclass Eucestoda. The total number of cestode species recorded for each fish host species fluctuated from a minimum of one cestode species in 15 fish hosts to a maximum of five cestode species in Silurus triostegus only. Number of fish hosts reported for these cestodes fluctuated from one host in case of 17 species to a maximum of nine hosts in case of Bothriocephalus acheilognathi.

The present study reports the occurrence of five species of monogeneans on gills of three freshwater fishes which were collected from fish markets in Baghdad city. These parasites included Dactylogyrus achmerowi, D. anchoratus and D. dulkeiti from Cyprinus carpio, D. lenkorani from Mesopotamichthys sharpeyi and D. varicorhini from Carasobarbus luteus. In addition to these parasites, the monogenean Ligophorus heteronchus was recorded from gills of Liza abu. The occurrence of the later parasite in the present study represents its first record in Iraq. The description and measurement of L. heteronchus were given.

Between January and December 2009, a total of 154 fish samples were collected from Tigris River from three stations at north, mid and south of Baghdad province (Al-Taji, Al-Shawaka and Al-Zaafaraniya, respectively). These fishes belonged to ten species: Alburnus caeruleus, Aspius vorax, Carasobarbus luteus, Carassius auratus, C. carassius, Cyprinus carpio, Cyprinion macrostomum, Liza abu, Mystus pelusius and Silurus triostegus. The result of inspection showed that eight species of these fishes were infected with 20 species of parasites belonging to the class Myxosporea. These included one species each of Unicauda and Chloromyxum, two species of Myxidium and 16 species of Myxobolus. Among these parasites, Myxobolus pfeifferi infected the highest number of hosts (eight hosts), while six parasite species infected one host each. Among these fishes, C. luteus was infected with the highest number of parasite species (16 species), followed by L. abu (15 species) while no infection was detected from both A. caeruleus and A. vorax. In addition, a total of 27 new host records in Iraq were reported for 15 species of these parasites.

A total of 226 freshwater fishes, belonging to 14 species, were collected from Darbandikhan Lake, southeast of Sulaimania city, Kurdistan region, Iraq, from March 2012 to the end of October 2012. The fishes were examined for monogeneans parasites. The study revealed the existence of 25 species of parasites including 20 species of Dactylogyrus, three species of Dogielius and two species of Gyrodactylus. Five species of these parasites (D. dyki, D. persis, D. mascomi, D. suchengtaii and G. molnari) were recorded for the first time in Iraq, and four species (D. barbiodies, D. formosus, D. lenkorani and G. sprostonae) were recorded in Kurdistan region. Also, some fish species were recorded as new hosts for some parasite species. The present study revealed that D. suchengtaii and D. carassobarbi had the highest prevalence f 100% and 90.90%, respectively in the lake.

A total of 48 specimens of the catfish Silurus glanis were collected from Greater Zab River as well as 36 specimens from the Lesser Zab River, Kurdistan Region, north of Iraq. The examination of fishes cleared the presence of the cestode Postgangesia inermata which was identified by using compound light microscope and scanning ultrastructure microscopy. Also histological sections were prepared and a molecular study was performed by amplification and sequencing of 1srDNA.

Five larval nematode species belong to three different superfamilies, Ascaridoidea, Physalopteroidea and Gnathostomatoidea were recorded and described from five marine fishes from north-west Arabian Gulf near Khor Al-Ummiah and two freshwater fishes from Al-Huwazah marsh during the period from July 2004 until June 2006. Terranova sp. Type BA larva and Terranova sp. Type BB larva were recorded from three species of sharks, whitecheek shark Carcharhinus dussumieri (Müller et Henle, 1839); Spot-tail shark C. sorrah (Müller et Henle, 1839) and Milk Shark Rhizoprionodon acutus (Rüppell, 1837). Proleptinae gen. sp. BA larva from large scale tongue sole Cynoglossus arel (Bloch et Shneider, 1801); Proleptinae gen. sp. BB larva from Asian catfish Silurus triostegus Heckel, 1843 and stinging catfish Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch, 1794). Echinocephalus sp. larva from C. arel and Arabian carpetshark Chiloscyllium arabicum Goubanov, 1980. All these parasites were recorded and described for the first time in Iraq.

Seasonal Changes in the number of Dahlgren cells in the spinal cords of two Freshwater fishes namely: Barbus luteus and Capoeta trutta were investigated along with their cyclic activity as detected using three different stain, Harris Haematoxyline –eosin (H-E), Aldehyde haematoxyline technique, (AF), Mallory triple stain, Amonical silver nitrate. These fishes were caught from River Tigris passing through Mosul city. After random counting of Dahlgren cells in the spinal cord of the 3 year old fish (B. luteus) three types of cells can be distinguished according to their sizes; small, medium and large. Small Dahlgren cells of B. luteus were most dominant in summer (average 81.6) then the number decreases in autumn, and then the minimum was in winter. The median sized cells were also large in number in summer (19.3), then the number was less than that in spring then winter and the lowest was in autumn. The large Dahlgren cells were more abundant also in summer (16), and less than that in spring, then in autumn, then the lowest was in winter. Dahlgren cells of C. trutta at age of 3 year, small cells were dominant in summer (79.67), and less than that in autumn, and lesser in spring. The medium sized cells were also dominant in summer (30.65), then spring, then autumn, while the large cells were dominant in spring (11.75). Anyhow, as seen above, the large number of Dahlgren cells were observed in summer especially small, then medium while large cells were more in spring. In B. luteus small Dahlgren cells were dominant in age 1 year, then 3 year, then 6 years, while medium sized cells were dominant in year 1, then 3, then 6 years. Generally number of Dahlgren cells decreases especially large once with increased age of B. luteus and C. trutta while Dahlgren cells of V. trutta was higher in number in age 1 year, then 3 year, then 6 year. Anyhow, the median and small size cells decreases in number as age of fish increases. It was revealed from the present study that Dahlgren cells possess secretory materials in the cytoplasm, their distribution and staining affinity varies from one type to other in both species of fishes investigated. The secretory cycle can be categorized into three stages: Stage I: mostly empty of few secretory material. Stage II: secretory material increase in cytoplasm far from nucleus. Stage III: discharge of secretory material from cell and its axon.

During the period from March 2011 to January 2012, a total of 146 specimens of the yellowfin sea-bream Acanthopagrus latus were collected from Iraqi coastal waters of the Arabian Gulf. The trematode Erilepturus hamati was recorded for the second time and A. latus considered to be a new host record in Iraq. The infection occurred in March, April, August and December 2011.The highest prevalence of infection was in April and the lowest prevalence in December 2011. While the highest intensity of infection was during March and the lowest was during August.

Seven specimens of strongspine silver-biddy Gerres longirostris (Lacepède, 1801) were collected from marine territorial water of Iraq near Khor Al-Ummiah during December 2012 and February 2013. Meristic and morphometric characters expressed as percentage of standard length of this species was given. This species is easy distinguished from other two gerreid [G. filamentosus Cuvier, 1829 and G. oyena (Forsskål)] known from Iraq by absence of an elongated second dorsal spine and having less percentage of body depth to standard length in the former (33-37.8 in compared to 42.9-51.4) and from G. oyena by having both higher counts of pored lateral line scales (44-46 in compared to 35-39) and higher number of scale rows above lateral line (6-7.5 in compared to 4.5-5.5). The present records bring the total number of Gerres species in Iraq to three species.

Two specimens of catfish were recorded for the first time from two different natural waters in Iraq. The first specimen was 67.7 mm. in total length, collected during a study on fish parasites of Ibn Najim marsh in the middle of Iraq during 2009. The second specimen was 312 mm in total length, captured during a survey on fishes of Shatt Al-Basrah canal south of Iraq in 2011. Twelve local aquarium pangasiids (Imported from the Philippines) were examined for morphometric and meristic characteristics for comparison. The results indicated that the aquarium specimens are closely allied to the wild specimens, all were identical with the genus Pangasianodon. The studied fish had characters share with P. hypophthalmus (Sauvage, 1878). The new occurrence of the striped catfish in Iraq, might be due to aquarium escape.

Fish cages and enclosures are known to be one of the intensive fish rearing methods which utilize small water area and provide high fish production. They are recommended for areas of low productivity, limited water resources and risk of pollution such as the southern marshes of Iraq. The limited use of such technique has always been related to high cost of construction and maintenance. The need of this technology in the poor areas of the marshes led to the proposal of simple technological designs that use locally available materials and satisfy the critical criteria of fish rearing systems. Use of such system as a family fish farm would enable local inhabitants to increase fish production in their areas, increase family income and improve livelihood conditions through better socio-economic status. The proposal includes the following steps: 1. Test of local aquatic plants and tools which can serve as raw materials. 2. Applying the most suitable design in terms of cost, time, building flexibility and maintenance. 3. Contribution of local inhabitants in construction steps of the fish cages. 4. Site selection survey of the most suitable areas for implementation in terms of water depth, velocity, quality, productivity and availability of shelter and security. 5. Implementing the constructed fish cages in the selected areas under the supervision of the local inhabitants. 6. Training and capacity building of members of local inhabitants on operating and maintenance. 7. Introduction of a selected commercial fish species for rearing, using the available fish fingerlings from local fish hatcheries. 8. Applying the most effective feeding method and monitoring fish wellbeing. 9. Periodical recording of fish growth criteria such as instantaneous growth rate, feed conversion efficiency and survival. 10. Performing fish production analysis and economical values to local inhabitants.

The marine brown seaweed Sargassum illicifolium is abundant along the Iranian coastline of Oman Sea which is rich in nutrients. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis which it canbe used as a source of protein in shrimp diets. The experiment was conducted in a laboratory, where 3 grams shrimp juvenile acclimation in a 5,000 L tank. They were then kept in plastic tank each containing 300 L water and 30 shrimp juveniles were fed daily (4% of biomass) in four equal portions with one of four diets, each with four repetitions for a period of 45 days. All diets contained 33% crude protein (isoprotein) and 355 kcal 100 gr−1 (isocaloric), with different percentages of sargassum powder: Diet “A” 15%; Diet “B” 10%, Diet “C” 5%, and Diet “D” without seaweed (control diet). Algae were collected, rinsed, dried and ground up for the feed formulations. Weight of the animals was measured at the beginning of the experiment and at 15-day intervals to assess their growth. The physicochemical variables of the water were measured every 2 days. Final biomass, biomass gain and specific growth rate (SGR) exhibited no significant differences between treatments (P>0.05). Survival rate was almost equal under the four experimental conditions, 95.2% to 97.00% (P>0.05). Diets “A” and “B”, with a greater content of algae, exhibited better feed conversion (1.15:1 and 1.17:1) than diets “C” and “D” (1.30:1 and 1.33:1) (P<0.05). The physical-chemical variables of the water showed no significant variation and remained within the standards necessary for the wellbeing of the shrimps. If sufficient biomass of beached algae can be practically and economically collected, it may be used as a component in the making of shrimp feed.

The present paper is concerned with annual catch of commercial fisheries in the Kingdom of Bahrain 2004-2009 based on landing statistics provided by the General Directorate for the Protection of Marine Resources. The Bahrain’s fisheries are categorized into three fishing grounds; Northern, Eastern and Western areas. The northern area comprised the majority of the total fisheries accounting, as overall, 51.3% followed by the eastern area (38.7%) and the lowest from the western area (10%). In the northern area, the finfish fisheries forming 59.4% over the period 2004-2009 followed by shrimp fisheries (17.1%) then crab fisheries by 12.2%. The eastern fisheries showed that the crab fisheries formed the majority of the catch with an overall percentage 44.6%, followed by finfish fisheries (34.4%) and then shrimp fisheries (15.0%). However, in the western area, the results obviously revealed that finfish fisheries largely forming 60.8% of the total catch, followed by crab fisheries (29.1%), whereas the shrimp fisheries constituted 5.6%. The annual catch of six most commercial finfish species (Rabbit fish; Siganus canaliculatus, Groupers; Epinephelus coioides, Spangled Emperor; Lethrinus nebulosus, Spanish Mackerel; Scombermorous commerson, Doublebar Bream; Acanthopagrus bifaciatus and Grey Grunt; Plectorhinchus sordidus), shrimps; Penaeus semisulcatus and crabs; Portunus pelagicus have been investigated at each fishing ground and the average price rates were described. Generally, the results showed a decrease trend for commercial catches over the investigated period synchronized with noticeable increase in price rate. As a result of deterioration in fish stock due to overfishing and increasing in population growth rate by ~ 7% during 2000-2010, the per capita fish consumption substantially declined to less than 10 kg/year in 2009 in comparison with ~25 kg/year in the 1980s.

The present study was conducted to define the copepodid stages of Mesocyclops edax (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) in the laboratory. Eggs of adult females were isolated and incubated in sterile petridish at 25±1C◦. During the follow up of the development of these eggs and after five days later of the last stage of nauplius the copepodid I, II, III, IV and V were observed. The study was included the descriptions of obtained copepodid stages.