Chittagong news

Introduction

Bangladesh is one of the south-east Asian countries. There is the Bay of Benagl to the south part of Bangladesh. It has a vast coastal belt of 710 kilometers with huge marine resources. The Western part of Bay Bengal is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India and Sri-Lanka and Eastern Coast of Bay of Bengal is bordered by Myanmar and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. There are huge marine resource in the Bay of Bengal including marine fishes, crabs,  algae, mollusks, shrimps, minerals etc.

                                     

Coastal and marine environment

•The Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh is a semi-enclosed tropical basin which is attached to the Indian Ocean.

•Bangladesh  has the continental shelf of up to 50m depth with an area of 37,000km2. The Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) of  Bangladesh lies from baseline to 200 nautical miles seawards.

•It covers 66,000 km² coastal waters are very shallow (< 10 m depth)about 24,000 km²and (up to <2oom) cover about 70,000 km².     

Categories of marine resources

There are different categories of marine resource available in the Bay of Bengal. Main categories of marine resources which are found in the marine environment of Bangladesh (Bay of Bengal)  are  mentioned bellow:

•Fauna

⁻Fishes

⁻Mollusks

⁻Shrimp

⁻Crabs

•Flora

⁻Sea grass

⁻Sea weeds

⁻Mangroves

•Minerals       

⁻Gas

⁻Oil

Marine fishes

There are a lot of marine fishes found in the Bay of Bengal. About  442 species of marine fishes are found in the Bay of Bengal.

 Some of these fish name and theirs characters are mentioned below:

1.Kamot Hangor (: Carcharhinus melanopterus)

Characterists:

•Stocky body.

•Snout is short and bluntly rounded. 

2.Hangor (Scoliodon sorrakowah)

Characterestic:

• Upper jaw is bigger than the lower jaw.
•  Body is covered with placoid scales.

3. Khurra ( Pristis microdon )

Characterestic:

•Saw long and narrow, tapering towards its tip.
• Second dorsal fin is  subequal with first dorsal fin.

4. Karati hangor (Pristis cuspidatus )

Characteristic:

• 22 pairs of triangular rostral teeth.
• Subcaudal lobe is distinct.

5. Shapla pata (Himantura uarnak )

Characteristic:
•  Diamond shaped and flatted body.                               
 • Distinct eye fairly large.




6 Med (Arius caelatus )    
Characteristics:        
 •Head depressed, concave at nape.
 •Three pair barbels present in the mouth.


7. Hature hangor (Sphyrna blochii  )
8. Pitambari (Rhynobatus granulates )
9. Shankachil (Aetobatus narinari  )
10. Shillong (Silonia silondia )
11.Kata gongra (Arius thatassinus )
12. Gang magur (Plotosus canius )
13. Bombay duck (Harpadon nehereus )
14. Urol (Exocoetus volitans )
15. Ekthuita (Hemirhamphus georgii )
16. Ekthuta (Hyporhamphus gaiimardi )
17. : Urol (Rhinomugil corsula )
18. Dharkuta (Sphyraena jello )
19. Dharkuta (Sphyraena obtusta )
20. Bole (Epinephelus lanceolatus )

Without the above marine fishes there are also a lot marine fishes in the Bay of Bengal. Most of the fishes are captured traditionally and industrially. Which helps Bangladesh government to earn huge amount foreign Currency in every year.

Marine mollusks

There are a huge number of marine mollusks available in the Bay of Bengal. About 336 species of marine mollusks are found in the marine environment of Bangladesh( Bay of Bengal). Three commercially most important mollusks species of Bangladesh are green mussel (Perna viridis), clam (Meretrix meretrix) and oyster(Crassostrea madrasensis) which are found along the coast of Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Today the mollusks species contribute a significant part of the world fishery. Many species can play a great role in the national economy of Bangladesh.  

Different valuable pearls are also produced from these mollusks.

By proper processing, mollusks and shellfish flesh can also be exported to foreign countries as a new food item with shrimp and crabs. Technologies can be developed for culturing mollusks and shellfish in coastal area of Bangladesh.

Marine shrimps

                                                   

There are about19 species of marine shrimps are found in the marine environment of Bangladesh. Shrimps are captured from the four fishing grounds of Bay of Bangle in an area of about 7,800 sq km of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of Bangladesh and are cultured in about 1,45,000 ha of the coastal area of Khulna and Cox's Bazar district of Bangladesh.

Penaeus monodon(tiger shrimp) and penaeus indicus(white shrim) are most commercially important marine shrimp of Bangladesh and fetches a large amount of foreign currency in every year.