A meeting of the Ministerial Committee for the Management of Alien and Invasive Species was held on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, at the Natural History Research Center and Museum. The committee, comprised of members from the Ministry of Higher Education and various Iraqi universities, discussed the North African catfish, Clarias gariepinus (BURCHELL, 1822) (SILURIFORMES, CLARIIDAE), an alien fish species documented for the first time in the Tigris River in a study published in the Iraqi Natural History Museum Journal (Volume 18, Issue 2). The meeting was chaired by Professor Dr. Razzaq Shaalan Agual, Head of the Vertebrate Department at the Natural History Research Center and Museum, with lecturer .Dr. Hind Diaa Hadi, Head of the Ichthyology Department, also in attendance. The committee addressed the negative impacts of this invasive species on the Iraqi environment, particularly its effects on native fish populations. The meeting concluded with observations and recommendations that will be discussed with the National Committee for the Management of Alien and Invasive Species at the Ministry of Environment.
