Seven types of species under threat of extinction in the Bay of Bengal
By Tahsin Taha (Student, Dept. of Law,
North-South University, BD)
Seven types of fish species in the Bay of Bengal are now underway to extinction due to uncontrolled and unplanned fishing. So if sustainable fishing management is not applied soon, these species will disappear from the Bay of Bengal very quickly. Therefore, oceanographers urged the respective department for taking necessary steps regarding this.
Prof. Saidur Rahman Chowdhury, one of the most researcher of the sea research ship “RV Minn Shandani” and professor of the Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries at the University of Chattagram, said,”
A research was being conducted on 10 precise species in the last 3 years in the Bay of Bengal. It is known that, out of 10 species, 7 species are under threat. So if the sustainable management and conservation activities are not executed in the Bay of Bengal very soon, these 7 species of fish will vanish.
In this case, the same method can be applied in sea fishing as the government has applied to protect the Hilsa fish.”
It is reported, ‘To get an idea about fishes up to a certain level in the Bay of Bengal a vessel named “RV Min Shandhani” started its work from 2016. This ship surveyed from 10 to 200 meters in the deep of the Bay of Bengal.
Every year, this vessel is engaged in a survey that works a total of 30 days in three phases from October to March. In the last 3 years, this vessel went to the sea a total of 9 times and the researchers spent 90 days for the experiment.
Their mission was to do a census of 10 defined fish species in the Bay of Bengal. They observed very direful statics which shows that 7 species of fish out of 10 species are facing extinction.
These fish species are
Salmon fish (Animalia Salmonidae), Pama Croaker (Otholithoides Pama), Left Pomfret (Pampus Chinensis), Skipjack fish (Katsuwonus Palamis), Silver Pomfret (Pumpus Argentus), Harina Prawn (Metapenaeus Monoceros).
These 7 species of fishes are on the way of extinction from the Bay of Bengal. And the other three types of species, White Pama Croaker, Small Trout, and Colombo Pomfret fish are also on the way to disappear slowly.
According to the researchers, currently, more than 6 lac (0.6 million) tons of fishes are collected yearly from the Bay of Bengal. So, to overcome this situation, we should gradually reduce the collection of fishes into 4.0 to 4.5 lac tons.
If it is not ensured, one day will come when the fishes in the Bay of Bengal will face a crisis. So we have to take the necessary steps regarding this as early as possible.
Professor Saidur Rahman Chowdhury said, “We have got a little information about 10 specific species from some particular area of the Bay of Bengal.
If we research the whole of the Bay of Bengal, we will see a serious situation. So, if we want to restore our sea resources, we have to stop overfishing. And we also have to conserve the breeding fields and control commercial trawlers’ movement.
It is not necessary to protect the whole sea because fishes don’t live in the whole sea. If we protect some certain areas of the sea it will be possible to protect the marine fishes in the Bay of Bengal.
