This dangerous method of fishing, where toxic chemicals are deliberately dumped into rivers and canals to kill fish en masse, is wreaking havoc on aquatic biodiversity, endangering wildlife, and posing serious risks to human health. The alarming rise of this practice has been attributed to a powerful syndicate of corrupt traders, dishonest forest officials, and criminal networks that profit at the expense of one of Bangladesh’s most valuable ecological treasures.

The rise of poison fishing in Sundarbans: A Well-Orchestrated Operation

Investigations reveal that at least three major groups are responsible for fueling the illegal practice of poison fishing in the Sundarbans:

1. Fish Traders and “Company Mahajans” – These influential traders finance local fishermen and pressure them to use poison to ensure a higher catch within a short time. By controlling the fish supply, they reap massive profits.
2. Corrupt Forest Officials – Dishonest officers, tasked with protecting the Sundarbans, accept bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to the poison fishing. Some even actively assist in the transport and sale of poisoned fish.
3. Forest Pirates and Middlemen – Once inactive, many former forest pirates have returned, this time working as enforcers for the traders. They offer protection to those engaged in illegal fishing while threatening or looting others who refuse to comply.

How the poison fishing Work in Sundarbans

Fishermen use two types of toxic chemicals, depending on their target catch:

• Chlorpyrifos and Cypermethrin – These chemicals are commonly used in agriculture but have been repurposed to kill both white fish and shrimp when mixed into the water.
• Cypermethrin Alone – This is used exclusively to kill shrimp.

Once the chemicals are released into the water, they deplete oxygen levels, causing fish to become weak and float to the surface, making them easy to collect. This method is quick, cost-effective, and highly destructive—not just for fish, but for the entire aquatic ecosystem.

Severe Impact on the Sundarbans Ecosystem

The consequences of poison fishing extend far beyond fish populations. Experts warn that these chemicals are absorbed into the mangrove roots, affecting the entire food chain.

• Declining Fish Stocks – Traditional fishermen report a steep decline in fish populations over the past five years, forcing many to abandon their livelihood.
• Loss of Aquatic Biodiversity – Poisoned rivers have led to the disappearance of snakes, frogs, leeches, and crabs, all crucial components of the Sundarbans’ ecosystem.
• Impact on Wildlife – Birds feeding on poisoned fish suffer slow and painful deaths, contributing to declining populations of species already threatened by habitat destruction.

According to Govinda Mandal, a fisherman from Koyra’s Bedkashi area, poison fishing was non-existent just a decade ago. “There were plenty of fish back then. But over the last five to six years, poisons have flooded the forest waters, and now even the birds are disappearing,” he laments.

A Threat to Human Health

Even though locals avoid eating fish from the Sundarbans, these poisoned fish end up in markets across the country, transported by trucks to Dhaka and other major cities. Consumers are unknowingly exposed to dangerous toxins linked to cancer, liver disease, and neurological disorders.

A researcher, Md Shah Paran, working on a project assessing the aquatic resources of the Sundarbans, confirmed that most fish in local markets smell of poison, particularly shrimp. Despite this, traders continue selling them, prioritizing profits over public safety.

The Role of Corrupt Authorities

Local pesticide shops near the Sundarbans, particularly in Koyra, openly sell chemicals like Diamgro, Fighter, Ripcord, and Pesicol. Strangely, many of their buyers don’t even own farmland—they are fishermen purchasing poison under the guise of agriculture.

Authorities have long been aware of these illegal activities but have done little to stop them. Mihir Kumar Doe, Forest Conservator of the Khulna region, confirmed that bottles of poison have been confiscated multiple times, yet the problem persists.

Fishermen who refuse to participate in the poison trade report being threatened by both criminal groups and corrupt officials.

A former fisherman, who served jail time for poison fishing, revealed their method:

1. Fishermen set small nets across canal openings during high tide.
2. When the tide recedes, they pour pesticides into the water.
3. Fish float to the surface within minutes.
4. The poisoned fish are collected and transported to buyers.

Since freshly poisoned shrimp cannot be immediately sold, traders have devised another method: drying them inside the Sundarbans itself.

• They cut down trees deep in the forest to construct makeshift drying platforms.
• Shrimp are dried using wood-fueled fires before being smuggled to Mongla for distribution.

The Political and Social Consequences

The rampant corruption and illegal exploitation of the Sundarbans have also given rise to a power struggle among criminal groups. Reports indicate that powerful middlemen, including Zahir Member, Rezaul Karim, and Lutfor Rahman, control more than 200 boats, operating under the protection of corrupt forest officials.

Forest guards allegedly demand bribes ranging from Tk 1,000 ($10) per week to Tk 5,000 ($50) per boat, allowing illegal fishing to continue unchecked.

One such trader, Abu Musa, openly admitted his involvement in illegal fishing but suggested “dividing the sanctuary among traders” to reduce competition.

Can the Sundarbans Be Saved?

Despite these overwhelming challenges, conservationists believe that decisive action can still reverse the damage. Gaurang Nandi, Chairman of the Center for Environment and Participatory Research (CEPR), emphasized the urgent need for:

1. Stronger Law Enforcement – Crackdowns on corrupt officials and poison traders.
2. Sustainable Fishing Alternatives – Promoting eco-friendly aquaculture methods.
3. Public Awareness Campaigns – Educating consumers about the dangers of poisoned fish.
4. Stricter Regulations – Enforcing harsher penalties for offenders.
   

Final Thoughts: A Ticking Time Bomb

Conservationists stress the need for immediate intervention to halt poison fishing. They advocate for stricter enforcement, improved monitoring, and sustainable fishing alternatives.

The Sundarbans serves as Bangladesh’s shield against natural disasters and is a crucial carbon sink. If its waters continue to be poisoned, the consequences will be catastrophic—not just for the environment but also for the millions who depend on it for their livelihoods. Urgent action is required to protect the future of this invaluable mangrove forest.

The post The Sundarbans under threat: Poison fishing puts world’s largest mangrove forest at risk appeared first on Seafood Network BD.

There are 133 species of seaweed in Bangladesh, and eight of them are commercially significant. In addition to its tremendous medical and gastronomic value, seaweed has significant export potential as a seafood product, which may generate large foreign exchange. Moreover, seaweed is used in the bio-chemical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic sectors.

Local residents row ropes with bamboo in the enclosure of saltwater fish gher at the bank of the Shakbaria river. They tied seaweed seeds to that rope and submerged it under brackish water.  As the algae lack roots, seaweeds float on the water’s surface, thanks to their pneumatocysts. Once they find anything that will serve as a substrate, they attach themselves there. For the ropes, they are able to float in a certain area while remaining stationary. Basanti Munda, a local farmer said, “this algae grows by taking nutrients directly from the water. They have no roots, stems, leaves, flowers or fruits. The cost of cultivation is only the purchase of bamboo and rope.”

Similar bamboo tops float on the water at Ghulam Mustafa’s fish cultivating enclosure, located a short distance from Tepakhali in Koira Upazila. Under one foot of water, a 25-meter-long, robust rope is drawn tight with bamboo.  On this rope, 15 cm long chunks of algae are hung. This is how the dreams of coir farmers are swinging under the salt water.

Farmer Golam Mustafa said, “Last year, the local exporters advised us to cultivate these algae. We are just putting them on the ropes as they suggested. These algae grow spontaneously without any care. They are eaten by ducks, fish and we heard people eat them too! Those who advised us to cultivate them said they will buy from us again.” Insecticides, fertilizer and fresh water are not required for seaweed production. This ensures that fishermen will always be able to make a living, even if they are unable to fish due to environmental or safety issues.

Farooq Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute said that “It has been found that seaweed is tolerant to the salinity level of Koyra upazila. Koyra is more suitable for seaweed farming than Cox’s Bazar. So seaweed cultivation can be done easily here. Apart from this, success is achieved only by tying a rope with bamboo in the water and tying algae seeds to it, and submerging it without any maintenance.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute chief scientific officer Harunor Rashid said, “seaweed is a delicious food that was unknown to many people in Koyra. We have trained 60 farmers in Koyra to produce potentially exportable and highly nutritious seaweed. Its seeds are collected from St. Martins have also been supplied to the farmers. Seaweed has a good market in the country and abroad. If we can capture the desired market, it is hoped that algae will revolutionize the economy of Bangladesh,” he added.

According to GM Insights, the worldwide market value of seaweed might approach to $85 billion by 2026. Although over 80% of the world’s seaweed production comes from Asia. By FAO stats from 2019, top 5 countries who are producing the most seaweeds are China, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines, Japan. Bangladesh seaweed production is estimated somewhere around 600 tons yearly.

Therefore, Bangladesh’s respective authorities should encourage the cultivation and use of seaweeds. Improving harvesting methods, creating artificial habitats and seeding appropriate coastal regions are necessary to boost the output. Research should be conducted to develop the technologies necessary for the production of various economically significant seed stocks and their enhancement. In addition, comprehensive studies must be carried out to identify ideal locations for seaweed cultivation on a wide scale.

Jaber Bin Abdul Bari
Dept. of Fisheries and Marine Science, NSTU

The post Seaweed farming gains momentum in Koyra appeared first on Seafood Network BD.

In Satkhira, soft shell crab farming has started from 2015 in a scattered way and now it’s a principle source of income for many people in that zone. Sudhanshu Shekhar Mandal once went to the Gharilal area of ​​Satkhira a few years ago and saw crab farming there. He then got motivated and planned to farm soft shell crabs in the same fashion. Mr. Mandal is the first person to start farming soft shell crab at Koyra upazila under Khulna district. In 2021, he leased two bighas of land for 18 thousand taka per year and started experimental crab farming. At that time there were only three thousand crabs in plastic boxes. That year he successfully cultivated 13,000 crabs in boxes. Last year 9 thousand kg of crab was produced. However, he expects that 25 thousand kg of crab will be produced this time.

This type of crab farming is quite simple. This method requires hundreds of plastic boxes floating in the water. Each box contains crabs (Scylla serrata). A crab of average size is put in the plastic box and placed on the surface of the water. While packing the crabs into the box, sometimes the smaller legs are removed, leaving only the two claws. It makes the crabs molt faster. Once they molt, the outer shell remains, that’s why it is called the “Soft Shell Crab”. Though within an hour or half, the outer shell grows hard again. These soft shell crabs are quite a seafood delicacy for many countries in the world.

There are frequent inspections of the plastic containers by the staff. They check whether any of the crabs have molted or not. Every 3-4 hours they check on the crab boxes. If they find a dead crab in a box, pick it up and bury it under the ground. Tilapia fish pieces weighing 5 to 8 grams are given to each box as food for the crabs every four days. Narayan Barman and Madhav Mondal, workers of his crab farm, said “we dug the enclosure five-six feet deep for crab farming. We do not use any type of fertilizer in the enclosure”.

According to Sudhanshu Shekhar Mondal, once they molt, boxes are cleaned with clear water and put back into the enclosure again. More or less in 15 days crab molts.  After collection of the soft shell crab, they are sold to different exporting factories from a place located near to the Burigoalini Forest Office in Satkhira. He makes roughly 5 lakh 50 thousand taka (USD 5500) selling 1000 kg of crab. In the dull season, the price of a kilogram of uncleaned soft shell crab is BDT 600-700 (USD 6-7); but, in peak season when the demand soars in foreign markets, prices can rise up to BDT 1400 – 1700 (USD 14-17) locally. Once the soft crabs are purchased, the processing factories clean and process them for export according to the buyer’s requirements. Soft shell crab season is from April to November every year. During winter, crabs don’t molt.

“Previously, there was just one box crab farming farm in Koyra, that was Tapu Soft Shell Farm,” stated by Koyra Upazila Fisheries Officer Aminul Haque. Within a year, a few more had constructed such farms. Box crab farming is a lucrative business. This approach does not waste food, and crab mortality is relatively low. Farmers can easily and rapidly open boxes and gather crabs to sell when crab prices climb.

By establishing these types of crab farms and avoiding the inherent dangers of fishing at sea or in rivers, this form of artificial farming is considered as a successful step towards making local fishing communities financially stable. This is significant since the government has taken stringent efforts to prohibit fishing at particular seasons in order to conserve stocks. The majority of crab growers reside in coastal areas, where the restriction has a significant impact on their livelihood.

The scenario is no different for Koyra upazila. Crab farming is providing locals with a fresh reason to be optimistic about an economy that had previously relied only on shrimp farming. The locals see this as a promising source for economic growth. And Sudhanshu Shekhar is the pioneer of crab farming in Koyra.

Jaber Bin Abdul Bari
Dept. of Fisheries and Marine Science, NSTU

The post Soft shell crab farming, an untapped potential for Bangladesh appeared first on Seafood Network BD.