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Diversity of Fish Species in South-eastern Coast of Bangladesh

T Akter
Department of Aquaculture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University(BSMRAU), Gazipur, Dhaka, Bangladesh

M M Hossain
Department of Coastal and Marine Fisheries, Faculty of Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University, Sylhet, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

As one of the major components of the blue economy and food security, coastal fisheries resources are vital for sustainable economic development, livelihood security, management and conservation. However, concurrent comprehensive studies on assessing the abundance and composition of faunal diversity from coastal and marine waters are scant. A yearlong field inventory was conducted with the aim to assess the present status of available fish and shrimp species taxa from marine and estuarine waters of the South-Eastern coast explicitly Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar districts of Bangladesh. Both qualitative and quantitative data concerning the current perspectives of fishery resources to assessing the existing realities of species compositions were accounted. The collected taxa (specimens) were identified based on expert knowledge sharing, secondary document consultation and internationally practiced appropriate methods. A total of 64 taxa including 54 finfish species under 27 families and 10 shrimp species under 2 families were recorded from the study area. On the basis of family-wise contribution, Sciaenidae showed the highest percentage (11%) represented by 6 species, followed by Gobiidae (9%) and Scombridae (9%) both represented by 5 species, whereas Engnaulidae and Cynoglossidae scored (7%) with 4 species. For shrimp species Pennidae exhibited (80%) contribution represented by 8 species followed by Hippolytidae (20%) represented by 2 species. The specimens were then preserved in the laboratory as the first step towards the setup of a Fish Museum in the Faculty of Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University (SAU) which may facilitate laboratory education for effective learning and help to respected stakeholders including scientists, researchers, students and managers as well.

Keywords: Blue economy, Biological diversity, Conservation, Fish museum, Laboratory education

Location: Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Conservation and Biodiversity

Commodity: Fish

Objectives:

Assessing the present status of fish and shrimp species availability, their subsequent collection and preservation in the laboratory (museum), may facilitate the education for effective learning and help to enhance public awareness about the conservation necessities of biological diversity of the coastal and marine ecosystems of Bangladesh.

Methodology:

Site profile of the study area: The study was conducted in Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong districts of the south-eastern coast of Bangladesh. The coastal zone of Bangladesh is well known for providing a huge contribution to the blue economy and nowadays catching policy and research attention for the sustainable development and utilization of the vast ocean resources. As fisheries resources are one of the most important parts of the blue economy around the world, therefore its sustainable utilization would lead to the realization of greater revenue in a manner which contributes to eradicating poverty, leads to sustained economic growth, enhances social inclusion, improves human welfare, creates opportunities for employment and decent work for all while maintaining healthy functioning of the Oceans ecosystem (DoF, 2013). The South-Eastern (Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar) coast is especially important for artisanal fisheries, fish landing centre, fishing activities, marine shrimp hatchery, shrimp farming, fishery, fish drying, salt production, agriculture, and other natural resources. Collection, identification and preservation of specimen: Data (both qualitative and quantitative) on the availability of marine fishery taxa and specimens mainly fin-fish and shrimp species were collected through a series of field survey during two main seasons explicitly monsoon and winter from the various fish markets and landing centers of Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar districts. All of the collected data were scrutinized and species observed in the study area were listed, photographed and immediately preserved in ice then transported to the Laboratory by using an icebox. The taxa were then identified based on expert knowledge sharing and secondary document consultation according to Froese and Pauly (2017), Rahman et al.(2009), Ahmed et al.(2008), Siddiqui et al. (2007), Huda et al. (2003) etc. Identification of the taxa was fine-tuned by cross-checking with the Catalogue of Life 2017 Annual Checklist (Roskov et al.,2017) and World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS Editorial Board,2017). In addition, IUCN global status and trends of each available taxa were provided, by using data from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN, 2017). All the specimens were subjected to a preservation process, for instance, fixed with 5-10% buffered formaldehyde solution to prevent the damage or destruction of the ossified structures of the sample over time. Then the specimens were preserved with 70% ethyl alcohol (ethanol) or 70% methylated ethanol and in some cases stored in 37% formaldehyde following Chakraborty et al. (2006) and standard procedures. Secondary data were collected from several networks, including Google Scholar, Scopus, Science direct, published articles etc.

Source of Information: Sylhet Agril. Univ. 4(2):267-279, 2017ISSN: 2308-1597

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

IUCN global status (IUCN, 2017) of the majority of the identified taxa (37 out of 64) was designated as not evaluated (NE) or not assessed for the IUCN Red List, with the global trend started as unknown or decreasing, which demand further research for better management, conservation and sustainable utilization of those resources. Nevertheless, the list of fishery taxa presented here with their IUCN global status, trends and updated nomenclature (systematics) by comparing with the global database (Catalogue of Life; WoRMS Editorial Board; IUCN Red List of Threatened Species) could provide valuable insights for the policymakers with the management of marine and coastal ecosystems of Bangladesh. Simultaneously, to assist in combating multidimensional anthropogenic and natural threats, this study submits urgent research and policy attention to conserve these invaluable marines and coastal resources for human well-being by ensuring better utilization while maintaining ecosystem health as an important component towards the sustainable blue economy of Bangladesh. The government should critically note and implement the opinions of the experts and should support the research facilities in order to get better resource exploitation to keep pace with the increasing demand for fishes in the 21st century as well as maintaining sustainable fisheries resources of Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Journal