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STORY: A severe water shortage in Iraq has fish farms on the brink

[Qasem Karam Dawwar / Fish farmer]

"There is no fruition and no result from this work. Because as you see, everything is now full of salt because of water scarcity and its pollution. These ponds cost us a lot of time, money and efforts. We had an economic plan but it is all destroyed."

These dried carp ponds were once irrigated by the Shatt al-Arab river

Damming upstream in Turkey and Iran is cutting the flow short

Wastewater dumping and poor rainfall have added to the farmers’ woes

[Qasem Karam Dawwar / Fish farmer]

"Even the color of the water is different from than regular water. This water is green, dirty and polluted. No fish can live in this water. Because a fish needs at the very least clean water.”

Evaporation has also accelerated, making the remaining water more saline

[Majed Qasem Mazaal / Fish farmer]

"Do you see this substance? It's caused the fish to lose its scales and you can see its tail is falling off."

"This damage is a result of salt. When salinity levels rise in fresh water, the first symptom that appears on the fish is that it is losing its scales."

To save water, some 95 unauthorized fish farms in the region have been shut down