Conservation is now a hot topic the world over. More and more people are increasingly becoming aware that more needs to be done to protect species before we lose them from the earth. But in Bangladesh, marine species like shark, stingray, skate and sailfish, are increasingly becoming endangered owing to indiscriminate harvesting because of a lack of clear regulation. They are collectively referred to as elasmobranch, which is a subclass of cartilaginous fish having a skeleton made of cartilage, rather than bone. It is these animals that play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem by containing the spread of the species below them in the food chain and serving as an indicator for ocean health. Ecologists warn that the loss of the fishes will lead to the decline in coral reefs, seagrass beds and possible of extinction of commercial fishing. The flesh of the fishes is not so much in demand in the country as their other items. “Only some of the indigenous and coastal people eat their flesh,” said Asutosh Das, the owner of Japani & Brothers, a shark trading shop at Fishery Ghat in the port city. Nevertheless, they are of great commercial importance for their liver oil, which is high in vitamin content; for fins used in soups; teeth for ornaments, bones for medicine and skins for making bags. Given their high value in the global export market, fishermen are seen catching them as by-catch indiscriminately including the juvenile ones, forcing them to teeter on the verge of extinction. “We net the fishes of any size including the small ones, and sell them to buyers in Cox’s Bazar, who process the fish items and export them,” he said, adding, “Now, mostly small-sized fishes are netted as the big ones hardly ever land. According to a 2008 study by Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, shark products export during 2008-09 was around 266-276 tonnes with a value of more than Tk 1.77 crore. Bikram Jit Roy, a scientific officer of marine fisheries survey and management unit at Marine Fisheries Department, said some 218 tonnes of elasmobranches were caught in the last one year. The officials at Export Promotion Bureau said only $3,008 worth of shark fins were legally exported in the last 10 months and the rest were smuggled into the neighbouring countries. Indiscriminate harvesting apart, a paradox in the legal fabrics is, too, contributing to their possible extinction. The exiting Fish Act has no restriction on harvesting the fishes, while the Forest Act restricts it. Furthermore, there is a dearth of detailed information on landing and harvesting of the fishes as no comprehensive survey was hitherto conducted on them, said the fisheries department officials. “It is kind of difficult to say whether or not these fishes are being overharvested due to a lack of precise information. However, seeing the indiscriminate harvesting of the fishes in the Fishery Ghat, it looks like they are being overexploited,” said Md Rashed-un-Nabi, professor of marine sciences and fisheries at Chittagong University. “We took initiatives to conduct survey on the species several times, but to no avail owing to a lack of adequate funding and logistical support,” he added. However, pursuant to a monthly report prepared by the fisheries department, based on unloading of the fishes at two main ghats — one in Cox’s Bazar and the other in Chittagong –, a total of 33,218 sharks and stingrays, weighting around 18.64 metric tonnes, were harvested from the Bay of Bengal in August of 2015 alone. Analysing the trend in catches between 2005 and 2010, Bikram said during the period the catching of juvenile sharks dramatically increased as the total marine catch decreased. Nabi said overexploitation would not only cause their numbers to drastically fall, but also imperil the entire ecosystem in the bay. So, a complete survey on the population of the species should be conducted as soon as possible, and in line with its findings, a uniform national guideline on harvesting of the fishes should be made, he stressed.
2016 / thedailystar.net