Health and environmental damage resulting from the use of illegal means of fishing in Raqqa

Fishermen in Raqqa resort to using illegal means to catch fish from the Euphrates River, such as blowing up with dynamite or using electric shocks, as an easy and profitable means of fishing, as the fisherman is able to catch the largest possible number of fish and put them in the city’s markets.

Mahmoud Al-Hamzawi, “an administrator in the livestock office in the Agriculture and Irrigation Authority in Raqqa Province,” warned of the environmental and health damage resulting from the use of illegal fishing methods. The use of dynamite and electric shock in fishing operations leads to the destruction of the animal and plant environment that lives in the river, as well as Sometimes it leads to deaths and injuries among fishermen or people close to the explosion area, or as a result of an electric shock.

Regarding the laws taken by the competent authorities to limit illegal fishing operations, Al-Hamzawi explains that they vary between “temporary seizure of the fishing equipment, and lifting the seizure after the expiry of the legal period, in addition to a financial fine, except for the electric fishing device known as the “Laqaf,” which is destroyed. There is no point in detaining it. If the violation is repeated, the fishing equipment will be confiscated.”

Al-Hamzawi pointed out that the competent authorities are taking legal measures against fishermen who practice illegal fishing methods, “in coordination with the security forces in the region, and patrols are also carried out on fish selling halls and inspecting them. Fish caught illegally are seized, stressing the necessity of using legal methods in fishing.” Such as nets and hooks, which are in line with the fish wealth protection laws in force in the region.

Fish is considered a rich food source that is in demand among the people of the region due to its low prices compared to the prices of red meat and the prices of chicken meat.