Riverine Bangladesh is the largest delta in the world. Sited in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river stream, this country has the Bay-of-Bengal in its south. Around 710 km. coastline in its south spread from Teknaf to Satkhira. A major portion of the diverse biodiversity of this country is seen in the marine ecosystem. The bottom of the coast gradually becomes deep towards the deep sea and suddenly falls in a vertical slope. A diverse biodiversity is seen in the shallow and the deep sea and in many small islands of the Sea. The plants and animals found in the salty & regular tidal environment are of different characteristics. The Bay-of-Bengal contains giant whales as well as minute organisms. Various species of dolphins and whales surf here in different groups. Despite being seen in the various places of the sea, the ‘Swatch of No Ground’ is famous for dolphins and whales. The highest number of species are seen in here. Apart from these, different species of shrimps, lobsters, crabs, marine turtles etc. are also found. Various species of marine fishes are mostly seen in the marine ecosystem. About 166,000 sq. km area within our maritime boundary is known as the Exclusive Economic Zone, which is larger than the land area of our country. There are four main fish capture zones in the Bay of Bengal; Southern patch, south of southern patch, middle patch and Swatch of no ground. Fishing continues in Sea for day & night. About 475 species of fishes are found in this huge economic zone. Among them Bombey-duck, Ribbon fish, Ritta, Surma, Giant Seaperch, Chapila, Pomfret, Tuna fish etc. are notable. These various species of fishes are of diverse size and color. Most of the fishes are very nutritious. Hilsa covers a large portion of the total captured marine fish of the country. Various species of sharks, skates and rays are also there. The fishermen capture hundreds of tons of marine fish everyday by their fishing trawlers. These commercially captured fishes are being exported to foreign countries after meeting up the demand of protein in the country. Each year, approx. 0.5 million metric tons of fish are being captured from the sea, from which $500 million is being earned by exporting. Shrimps cover a large portion of marine fisheries. Various species of shrimps are found in the sea. The tiger shrimp is one of them. Some species of tiger shrimps are economically very important. To increase the production of shrimp and prawn, numerous hatcheries have been built in the coastal area. From these hatcheries, the hatchlings are supplied to the shrimp farms. Millions of people have been occupied in this industry. Our country earns a huge foreign currency by exporting the shrimps. Hence, it is called as ‘White Gold’ in our country. A part of the marine fishes captured in this country is processed as dry fish. The places like Cox’s Bazar, Sonadia, Moheshkhali, Dubla Char are famous for dry fish processing. Bombey-duck, Ribbon fish, Giant Seaperch, Pomfret, Tuna fish, different prawn species etc. are famous for drying. These dry fishes are being exported to foreign countries after meeting up the demand in the country. Fish is a traditional item for the Bengali people. The proverb “fish and rice make a Bengali” was actually emerged due to the popularity of fish in Bengali society. But due to lack of apt management, our marine fish resources are not being harvested properly. In addition to this, climate change and various pollutions are also responsible. Fuel and wastes emitted from mechanized vessels, waste products from the ship breaking industries etc. are continuously polluting the aquatic environment of the Sea. For such kinds of pollutions and uncontrolled fishing, some species are gradually being endangered. Which is impacting the complete marine ecosystem. The economy of the country is going down. So, to protect the marine fisheries, it is very important to take apt initiatives now. Building public awareness and taking sustainable planning can save our massive marine ecosystem and at the same time can sustain our resourceful marine fisheries.

• published: 08 Aug 2015
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