A Catch of Two Species of Shrimp Metapenaeus affinis and Penaeus semisculcatus in Iraqi Marine Waters Northwest of the Arabian Gulf

This study was conducted on two shrimp species, Metapenaeus affinis and Penaeus semisulcatus, in Iraqi marine waters during 2018, 2019, and 2020. The total catch of the two species was 4,541kg, with catches of 40.89kg, 37.59kg, and 21.52kg in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. The highest catches occurred in June, July, August, September, and October, with amounts of 480kg, 580kg, 542kg, 487kg, and 590kg, respectively. The average catch per unit of effort per month for M. affinis was 11.88kg/ h, 9.88kg/ h, and 12.83kg/ h for the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. For P. semisulcatus, the average catch per unit of monthly effort was 5.17, 5.93, and 4.49 for 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. Four environmental factors were measured: water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, salinity, and pH. Canonical principal component analysis (PCA) of the two shrimp species in relation to environmental factors revealed a strong correlation between both species and salinity, followed by a weaker correlation with temperature and oxygen concentration. The abundance of both species was highest in October, followed by September and November. The aim of this study was to assess the catches of the two shrimp species in Iraqi marine waters, located in the northwest Arabian Gulf, and to examine the effects of certain environmental factors on their distribution.