Socio-economic Status Comparison of Fishermen Community in Two Marsh Areas in Southern Iraq

Abstract

In the southern marshes of Iraq, the majority of males are involved in the occupation of fishing. Among the glitches experienced by fishermen in the marsh areas in Iraq as in similar areas around the world comprise poverty and minimal fishing activity due to the environmental and climate concerns, in which these both matters can cause a failure in the fishery yield and revenue. This study is performed to designate the social and economic signs of the fishermen and their family in two areas at the southern marshes of Iraq, one in the marshes near Thiqar Province on Euphrates River and the other near Mysan Province on the Tigris River.. A number of 120 and 130 of the total participants were interviewed in marshes near Thiqar and Mysan Provinces, respectively. The participants were interviewed arbitrarily designated by using Slovin’s formula. In this study, the results showed that 14.9% and 19.6% of the wives in the marshes near Thiqar Province and Mysan Province, respectively, were verified working and backing to household income. The survey also revealed that in the area of the marshes near Thiqar Province, a majority of 36.2% fishermen are above 50 years old, with 77 years old being the oldest and 19 years old the youngest. On the other hand, 25.3% majority of the fishermen in the marshes near Mysan Province are in the group age of 31−40 years old with the 71 years old being the oldest and 19 years old being the youngest. Consequently, job-related chances for fishermen household should be accessible so that fishermen’s wife and children can underwrite in growing their family revenue. On the other hand, introduction of modern fishing service to decrease fishermen’s energy during fishing actions to improve catches and yield of the fishes have imapcted the income of fishermen by reducing the number of fishers.