Biodiversity of Sundarbans is being destroyed by poison
The trend of hunting fish using poison in the canals flowing inside the Sundarbans is increasing daily. A gang of unscrupulous fishermen has become reckless.
Environmentalists fear that if fish extraction continues with this poison, the entire Sundarbans area will be devoid of fish, and it will destroy the flora and fauna of the Sundarbans.
After investigation, it is known that the fishermen mix pesticides with prawns, rice, or something else in the Sundarbans’ canal and sprinkle it in the canal’s water before the tide.
In no time, different species of fish floated in the water. The fishermen catch and supply the fish to various markets, including the local market.
It is alleged that fishers are hunting a class of evil forest guards by using poison and regularly killing them. Therefore, they must pay Tk.10,000 per trawler and Tk.5,000 per boat.
By managing the forest officials, they poisoned the canals of the sanctuary and hunted more fish in less time. Besides, the fishermen must pay the local law and order forces to ensure that the caught fish reaches the locality safely. Sometimes, 2/1 people are caught, but there is no exemplary punishment, and the criminal gang has become reckless day by day.
In the Sundarbans, among the entry ban for fish and crab extraction, the activities of hunting fish with poison are going on under the umbrella of influential people. The forest department and the local administration cannot suppress them even by conducting raids.
It is known from talking to several people, including Yasin, Kamal, and Al Amin of Koira Upazila on the coast of Sundarbans, as well as the people of the forest department, some local people representatives,
politicians, some fish dealers, donors, and even journalists enter the Sundarbans under the umbrella of unscrupulous fishermen. They have a class of pesticide sellers with them.
The gang members freely collect pesticides from these vendors and misuse them for fishing. And in some cases, some unscrupulous forest guards and forest department officials pretend not to see these things in return for a favor.
These fish are hunted with different pesticides used to control crop pests. Among them, Diamgro, Fighter, Ripcord, and Pesicle are the most commonly used pesticides by fishermen.
Locals said that several fishermen of Tantultala Char, Koira, Jorsingh, Nilkomal, Mongla Dhangmari, Morapshur, Jongra, Jhapsi, Bhadra, Nil Kamal, Harintana, Kokilmuni, Herbaria along with Sharankhola, Batiaghata, Shyamnagar, Ashashuni are fishermen of the Koira part of Sundarbans. Sue Fishing with poison.
According to Sundarbans West Forest Department sources, there is a ban on entering the Sundarbans for three months, from June 1 to August 31. At this time, the government has also banned tourists from catching fish and crabs in the rivers and canals of the forest.
In the last two months, 116 cases have been registered in the Khulna and Satkhira ranges of the Sundarbans during this off-season. At this time, 124 fishermen were arrested.
It is known that 27 POR cases, 34 UDOR cases, and 01 COR cases have been filed for illegal entry into the Khulna range of Sundarbans during the prohibited period.
At this time, 23 accused were arrested. Besides, one engine-powered trawler, 63 boats, four motorcycles, 16 kg of deer meat, 639 kg of prawns / white fish, 35 kg of dried shrimps, 190 kg of crabs, 600 deer traps and 14 bottles of poison were seized.
Eight engine trawlers, 130 boats, and a pickup van have been seized from the Satkhira range of Sundarbans during the past two months while transporting illegal crabs.
At this time, 101 people were arrested. 7 POR cases, 31 UDOR cases, and 16 COR cases have been filed.
In addition, law enforcement forces prohibited illegal fishing nets, including removing pesticides, deer meat, catching traps, dried shrimps, and other equipment. There, 23 lakh 36 thousand rupees revenue has been collected through the settlement of cases at the departmental level.
Shyama Prasad Roy, officer of Kashiabad station in West Sundarbans, said, “Some people named Mahajan in the area adjacent to Sundarbans try to catch fish in the forest canals during prohibited times every year.
They encouraged the fishermen of the area to hunt fish by poisoning them. Others take financial benefits from the fishermen and poison the canals of the protected forests to allow them to poach and smuggle fish.”
They monitor the movement of forest guard patrols and alert the fishermen. Our campaign to eliminate poaching continues.
Officer in charge of Koira Police Station. Mizanur Rahman said, “Along with the forest department, we are also conducting regular operations to control fishing with poison. In the last four days, 380 kg of shrimps caught with poison have been seized. I have arrested four people involved with it.”
Professor Abdullah Harun Chowdhury, a Khulna University’s Faculty of Environmental Science teacher, said, “All types of fish, big and small, are harmed if poison is applied. The fry dies.
Besides, when the polluted water goes towards the deep sea due to the tide, the area’s aquatic life is also affected. Besides, the effect of mixed poison in the surrounding soil remains for a long time.”
As a result, the reproductive capacity of aquatic animals is reduced, and health is affected. The number of aquatic animals is decreasing day by day. Birds and larger animals that survive on these fish are also being harmed. As a result, the life cycles of fish, birds, and other animals dependent on fish are changing.
