In recent years, Isfahan Province has faced critical environmental and biodiversity conditions due to prolonged drought and diminishing water resources, a situation whose direct impacts are casting a heavy shadow over the ecosystem of the Zayandeh Rood River.
In this regard, a fisheries expert highlighted structural changes in the riverbed and the flow of the Zayandeh Rood, warning that the river’s unique indigenous species are on the brink of extinction. The expert added that the continuation of this trend could seriously disrupt the region’s food chain and biodiversity.
Saeed Asadollah Nasrabadi, an expert at the Isfahan University of Technology’s fisheries laboratory, evaluated the recent state of the Zayandeh Rood, stating that physical changes to the riverbed and fluctuations in water flow have severely impacted the river’s ecosystem and led to a decline in biodiversity.
The fisheries expert added: “In the past, the banks of the Zayandeh Rood featured natural dykes and pools that played a vital role in the reproduction and growth of fish larvae. However, with the drying up of these habitats, the capacity for natural reproduction for many species has vanished, and their populations have become confined to limited sections upstream.”
