The Sundarbans is facing severe cyclones one after another caused by climate change. However, it is not just storms and tidal surges causing harm. Rising salinity and temperature, along with new diseases and pests, are damaging the country’s greatest protector. Adding to this is the exploitation by unscrupulous individuals. Today, the Sundarbans itself is in danger due to these combined threats.

According to an investigation by Prothom Alo, the greatest danger in the Sundarbans at the moment is the competition among fishermen to catch fish using poison. At least three powerful quarters are behind this illegal activity. One group includes fish traders, known as “company mahajans,” who control certain fishermen and encourage them to use poison to quickly catch large quantities of fish. Another group is comprised of corrupt forest guards who take bribes from these traders, allowing them to poison the rivers and canals in wildlife sanctuaries. Recently, forest pirates have also joined in, working with these groups. Some journalists are reportedly assisting them.

The officer-in-charge of the Hadda patrol station in the Sundarbans, Sabit Mahmud, said, “When he meets fishermen in the forest, many of them refer to their “mahajan”, a journalist. I recently heard about a journalist from the Koyra upazila, who became a millionaire by being involved in the illegal business of catching fish fry in the Sundarbans.”

A forest officer said that many people identifying themselves as journalists take allowances from forest stations every month. This practice has been going on for years.

In 2018, many forest pirates who had surrendered became inactive, but with the support of dishonest fish traders, they have now returned to the Sundarbans. These pirates offer protection to the fishermen working for the company mahajans, while robbing others. This has led to a significant increase in poisoning and fishing activities in the Sundarbans.

Govinda Mandal, a fisherman from the northern Bedkashi area of Koyra, has been fishing in the Sundarbans’ rivers and canals for the past 55 years. He told Prothom Alo, “There was no tradition to use poison for fishing in the past. There were plenty of fish at that time. But for the past five to six years, poison has been entering the forest, and now, there are fewer fish, and even the birds are not available.”

Sundarbans turns blue in poison

In favour of a private organisation, Md Shah Paran works on a project related to the “Assessment of the Aquatic Resources of the Sundarbans”

He told Prothom Alo, “For eight months, I’ve been visiting the fish markets near the Sundarbans in Koyra every day, counting the fish species. However, most of the fish brought to the market are caught using poison. The smell of poison is especially strong in shrimp. Locals don’t eat the fish from the Sundarbans. The poisonous fish are all transported by truck to Dhaka and other districts of the country.”

The Forest Conservator of the Khulna region, Mihir Kumar Doe said, “At various times, we have seized bottles of poison or poisoned fish from dishonest fishermen in the Sundarbans. We’ve found that most of the poison is used to kill pests on vegetables and plants. Fishermen use two types of poison: one for white fish and another for shrimp. Some poisons, when mixed with water, create an oxygen deficiency, causing the fish to weaken and die. If birds eat the dead fish or crabs, they can also die. Consuming such fish would certainly harm the human body.”