0:00:01.907,0:00:03.814
So we've talked about [br]how climate change

0:00:03.814,0:00:05.920
can mess with food supply,

0:00:05.920,0:00:06.676
but conflict can too.

0:00:06.676,0:00:09.620
Farmers flee, ports get cut off,

0:00:09.620,0:00:11.508
and bombs can devastate [br]the utilities that irrigate land,

0:00:11.508,0:00:12.844
and keep the water clean.

0:00:12.844,0:00:14.766
That's exactly what happened in Iraq.

0:00:14.766,0:00:18.239
And it's changing how people get [br]the key ingredient in their national dish.

0:00:22.292,0:00:23.496
(Tarek) <i>For thousands of years,</i>

0:00:23.496,0:00:27.260
<i>these marshes have provided[br]the people of southern Iraq with fish.</i>

0:00:28.340,0:00:29.512
<i>Lots and lots of fish.</i>

0:00:30.382,0:00:32.198
<i>Carp has been the favorite here,</i>

0:00:32.198,0:00:35.464
<i>going back all the way to [br]when this area was part of Babylonia.</i>

0:00:36.771,0:00:39.203
<i>It is grilled and seasoned [br]to make masgouf,</i>

0:00:39.203,0:00:41.976
<i>which is now known[br]as Iraq's national dish.</i>

0:00:42.850,0:00:45.714
<i>Decades of war, invasion, [br]and political instability</i>

0:00:45.714,0:00:48.179
<i>have devastated the country's waterways.</i>

0:00:49.159,0:00:53.900
<i>But fish's place in Iraqi culture[br]is as strong as ever.</i>

0:00:53.558,0:00:56.260
<i>What has changed is how people get it.</i>

0:00:57.853,0:01:01.312
TASTE OF A NATION

0:01:12.176,0:01:13.667
(Tarek) We are in the [Central] marshes.

0:01:13.667,0:01:14.999
It's four in the morning,

0:01:14.999,0:01:18.789
we're heading out with some fishermen [br]who use electricity to catch their fish.

0:01:19.638,0:01:21.312
It's an illegal form of fishing,

0:01:21.312,0:01:23.980
but it's one way for people to make money.

0:01:26.870,0:01:31.151
(Samer) This is the generator, [br]and this is the converter.

0:01:31.151,0:01:33.333
It outputs two cables, live and ground.

0:01:33.333,0:01:35.352
The ground cable goes into the water.

0:01:36.226,0:01:38.394
And the live cable[br]is attached to my net here.

0:01:46.630,0:01:48.985
So the power stuns the fish to my net,[br]and I scoop it.

0:01:51.595,0:01:55.561
(Tarek) <i>Samer Kadhim comes to the marshes[br]five times a week for electrofishing,</i>

0:01:55.561,0:01:57.166
<i>a method his father taught him</i>

0:01:57.166,0:02:00.487
<i>that helps him to quickly catch[br]large amounts of fish at once.</i>

0:02:03.831,0:02:07.594
<i>Electrofishing is illegal [br]in most countries, including Iraq,</i>

0:02:07.594,0:02:11.932
<i>because it can destroy ecosystems [br]and already fragile fish populations.</i>

0:02:13.762,0:02:15.621
(Tarek) What kind of fish[br]do you catch here?

0:02:15.621,0:02:19.380
(Samer) We fish carp,[br]tilapia, and boshbosh.

0:02:19.577,0:02:20.749
This is tilapia.

0:02:21.603,0:02:22.832
And this is boshbosh.

0:02:23.181,0:02:27.607
Since it's an illegal job,[br]aren't you afraid of getting arrested?

0:02:27.607,0:02:29.378
No, I'm not afraid.

0:02:29.378,0:02:31.224
The police have nothing to do with it.

0:02:31.224,0:02:33.750
They don't arrest you.

0:02:33.954,0:02:35.907
It's how we get our daily income.

0:02:36.832,0:02:40.936
There are four or five people[br]in each house,

0:02:40.936,0:02:42.113
a family.

0:02:42.627,0:02:43.922
We have God and fishing.

0:02:46.226,0:02:49.443
<i>♪ And I sharpen them ♪</i>

0:02:49.443,0:02:54.685
<i>♪ The knives of time, I sharpen them ♪</i>

0:02:54.962,0:03:01.509
<i>♪ I sharpen them, and my father[br]never had mercy on me ♪</i>

0:03:03.204,0:03:06.251
(Tarek) <i>Abu Haider is a fisherman [br]and a tour guide.</i>

0:03:06.251,0:03:07.917
<i>He grew up in the marshes,</i>

0:03:07.917,0:03:09.367
<i>watched them changed,</i>

0:03:09.367,0:03:11.376
<i>and in the '90s mourn their loss.</i>

0:03:12.293,0:03:16.680
<i>That's when then president[br]Saddam Hussein drained the marshes--</i>

0:03:16.680,0:03:18.160
<i>the Middle East largest wetlands--</i>

0:03:18.160,0:03:20.614
<i>as a military strategy[br]to control his opposition.</i>

0:03:21.531,0:03:25.578
<i>Water returned to the marshes in 2003,[br]but it wasn't the same.</i>

0:03:30.821,0:03:34.477
(Abu Haider) When we lived here,[br]the area was not like this.

0:03:34.477,0:03:36.170
The water was sweet.

0:03:36.170,0:03:41.410
We didn't filter the water,[br]and drank directly from the marsh.

0:03:41.410,0:03:44.208
If everything remains as it is,

0:03:44.208,0:03:45.922
what do you think would happen

0:03:45.922,0:03:48.870
in the marshes and its life in the future?

0:03:48.333,0:03:50.489
The first shortage will be in fish.

0:03:52.980,0:03:55.480
The fish resources will dry out.

0:03:58.361,0:04:01.909
(Tarek) <i>Pollution has made losing fish,[br]or at least one safe enough to eat,</i>

0:04:01.909,0:04:03.682
<i>a very real and looming threat.</i>

0:04:04.803,0:04:08.586
<i>But, for now, fish is savored, [br]especially when it comes to masgouf,</i>

0:04:10.764,0:04:13.343
<i>and preparation is taken very seriously.</i>

0:04:16.839,0:04:18.895
(Abu Haider) So, let's get them[br]in the the dishes.

0:04:18.895,0:04:21.428
Be careful. Don't burn your hand.[br]Turn it upside down.

0:04:22.498,0:04:24.302
Move it like this.

0:04:30.129,0:04:31.605
(Tarek) This is marshland fish.

0:04:31.605,0:04:32.962
(Abu Haider) Marshland fish.

0:04:34.171,0:04:35.383
(Tarek) Very tasty.

0:04:37.267,0:04:39.833
How much has the taste [br]of this fish changed

0:04:39.833,0:04:41.880
in comparison to fish back in the day?

0:04:42.530,0:04:46.637
The days in the past were better.[br]In the '80s.

0:04:46.637,0:04:48.776
In the '80s, the water[br]was clean and clear.

0:04:49.251,0:04:51.271
It was tastier than this fish.

0:04:53.314,0:04:58.432
(Tarek) <i>The water from the marshes [br]flows south to Basra, Iraq's fish capital.</i>

0:04:59.294,0:05:02.300
<i>The quality of water here got so bad,</i>

0:05:02.300,0:05:05.709
<i>that in 2018, more than 100,000 people [br]were hospitalized</i>

0:05:05.709,0:05:08.140
<i>with symptoms related[br]to contaminated water.</i>

0:05:09.297,0:05:13.318
<i>Widespread protests broke out against[br]what people believe caused the crisis--</i>

0:05:14.300,0:05:16.227
<i>government negligence and corruption.</i>

0:05:17.275,0:05:21.477
<i>The situation did little to change[br]Basra's reputation for fish,</i>

0:05:21.477,0:05:23.553
<i>but restaurants have had to adjust.</i>

0:05:27.618,0:05:31.114
<i>[Mata'am Ma'a Shaari] is one of the city's[br]most popular spots,</i>

0:05:31.114,0:05:32.644
<i>and specializes in masgouf.</i>

0:05:35.144,0:05:38.788
We usually bring the fish[br]and every day is fresh.

0:05:38.938,0:05:43.563
This is actually raised in ponds,[br]it's not really from the river, you know.

0:05:44.461,0:05:46.848
(Tarek) <i>They've turned away [br]from wild caught fish</i>

0:05:46.848,0:05:48.972
<i>in favor of those raised on farms,</i>

0:05:48.972,0:05:52.178
<i>which many owners see [br]as safer and more dependable.</i>

0:05:57.899,0:06:01.574
This cutting method[br]is specific to masgouf.

0:06:01.574,0:06:03.603
You go from the head to the tail.

0:06:08.835,0:06:12.270
(Tarek) On a day like today,[br]which is Friday,

0:06:12.270,0:06:13.400
how many fish do you grill?

0:06:13.658,0:06:17.141
(Mahmoud) Well, around 80 or 70.

0:06:23.196,0:06:27.709
(Tarek) How important[br]is masgouf to Iraqis?

0:06:27.709,0:06:32.130
Masgouf has really specific importance, [br]to be frank with you.

0:06:32.130,0:06:33.712
It has a special taste, you know,

0:06:33.712,0:06:37.130
like even the time they spend[br]when they grow the fish,

0:06:37.130,0:06:39.158
it gives value to the dish.

0:06:39.158,0:06:40.449
So people love it.

0:06:41.464,0:06:44.175
(Tarek) <i>All the factors that threaten [br]the country's fish</i>

0:06:44.175,0:06:46.198
<i>are not going away anytime soon.</i>

0:06:47.453,0:06:50.682
<i>But in some ways,[br]they've made fish more appreciated,</i>

0:06:51.491,0:06:54.480
<i>a way to feel connected to what Iraq is...</i>

0:06:54.446,0:06:55.396
<i>and has been.</i>