Anzali Lagoon ( fa, تالاب انزلی) (also Anzali Mordab, Anzali Bay, Pahlavi Mordab, Pahlavi Bay or Anzali Liman)
accessed 29 November 2008 is a coastal liman, or

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

, in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, often described as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia; east of the Caucasus, west of the broad steppe of Central Asia ...

near

Bandar-e Anzali Bandar-e Anzali ( fa, بندرانزلی, also Romanized as Bandar-e Anzalī; renamed as Bandar-e Pahlavi during the Pahlavi dynasty) is a city of Gilan Province, Iran. At the 2011 census, its population was 144,664. Anzali is one of the mos ...

, in the northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ian province of Gilan. The lagoon divides Bandar-e Anzali into two parts, and is home to both the Selke Wildlife Refuge and the Siahkesheem Marsh."IR016: Anzali Mordab complex" Birdand International
accessed 29 November 2008

History

Although the lagoon suffers from pollution, it is known as a good place for bird watching. The lagoon's water ranges from fresh near the tributary streams to brackish near the mouth into the harbor and the sea. Studies indicate that in the 19th and early 20th Centuries that the lagoon had a much higher salinity.
accessed 29 November 2008 The lagoon has decreased in size since the 1930s to less than a quarter of its former extent. However, in the last ten years () water salinity has increased both by the rise of the level of the Caspian Sea which has caused greater interchange of waters, and due to greater salt transport in incoming "fresh" water due to increased upstream irrigation. The lagoon has been listed in

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on W ...

since 21 December 1975.

Fishery

Prior to 1950 the Anzali Lagoon provided about 70% of the commercial fish taken in Gilan Province, with catches of over 5,000 tons annually. Commercial fishing was done during the spring and autumn

spawning Spawn is the eggs and sperm released or deposited into water by aquatic animals. As a verb, ''to spawn'' refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, and the act of both sexes is called spawning. Most aquatic animals, except for aquat ...

cycles when the

kutum Kutum is a town in the Sudanese state of North Darfur. It lies northwest of the state capital, Al-Fashir. The town is located along a wadi and therefore also known as Wadi Kutum. It lies north along the Marrah Mountains; the Kutum volcanic fi ...

pike-perch ''Sander'' (formerly known as ''Stizostedion'') is a genus of predatory ray-finned fish in the Family (biology), family Percidae, which also includes the perches, Gymnocephalus, ruffes, and Darter (fish), darters. They are also known as "pike-pe ...

and

bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...

, would enter the lagoon from the Caspian. However, a number of factors acted against the continuation of the fishery and by the time commercial fishing ceased in 1960 annual catches were less than 100 tons. Heavy siltation from increased upstream irrigation had resulted in the shrinkage and shallowing of the lagoon, increased pollution of the source waters and

eutrophication Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytopla ...

due to an increased nutrient load contributed to the destruction of the fishery. More recently the surface of the lagoon has become gradually overgrown with aquatic macrophytes, primarily the non-native water-fern,

Azolla filiculoides ''Azolla filiculoides'' (water fern) is a species of ''Azolla'', native to warm temperate and tropical regions of the Americas which was introduced to Europe, North and sub-Saharan Africa, China, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the Caribbean and H ...

, and this has caused increased eutrophication, creating large areas of the lagoon where there is insufficient dissolved oxygen for fish to survive.Holčik, Juraj and Oláh, János (1992) "2.3.3 Azolla invasion" ''Fish, Fisheries and Water Quality in Anzali Lagoon and Its Watershed'' Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome
accessed 29 November 2008

Geography

Located in an area of 15,000 hectares near the northern port city of Bandar Anzali in Gilan Province, Anzali is one of the few Iranian wetlands which have been registered as an international wetland in the 1975 Ramsar Convention. Wetlands are considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems; however, the Anzali Wetland has also been the victim of the authorities neglect, putting it in danger of grave ecological changes. The use of Anzali Wetland's bank as the city dump and the release of human and industrial waste into the wetland have already put in danger the lives of animal species and at least 78 species of birds living in the area. Besides, some local authorities plan to build a sports field in a peninsula connected to the wetland. This will be the final blow to the wetland, which has so far been prevented only by the serious opposition of environmentalists to the construction of the sports field. The efforts made in Australia, Canada, the United States and many European countries to protect nature can be considered an epitome of the governments' serious attention to the conservation of natural habitats, which are permanent sources of tourism attraction.

Islands

Among the islands located in the lagoon are Bozorg, Kouchak, and Mianposhteh.

Tributaries

The following rivers and streams flow into the Anzali Lagoon.
accessed 29 November 2008 *Pirbazar *Pasikhan *Shakhraz *Gazrudbar *Massuleh *Palanghvar *Abatar *Khalkai *Morghak *Bahambar *Shaf

References

External links

{{Authority control Landforms of Gilan Province Wetlands of Iran Lagoons of Iran Ramsar sites in Iran Tourist attractions in Gilan Province