B'desh to lose most marine fish population for global warming

Experts said Bangladesh is poised to lose most of its marine fish population as a result of climate change, dealing a big blow to thousands of people dependent on fishing in the sea, reports UNB.

"Bangladesh has a long coastal belt of 710 kilometres with abundant marine resources. We have so far found some 475 species of marine fishes, 400 of mollusc and 200 species of sea-woods. Unfortunately, some of them have disappeared and many more are on the verge of extinction," Prof Nani Gopal Das of Chittagong University's Marine Biology Department told the news agency.

The scientific names of some of the marine fishes of various countries, including Bangladesh, which have been included in the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are Johnius coitor, Nematalosa galatheae, Pseudapocryptes elongates, Thunnus albacares, Thunnus obesus and Xiphias gladius.

He said monsoon variations, frequent droughts and severe storms would also kill the fish in inland freshwater bodies and affect their breeding patterns. "When there will be a significant effect on the ecosystems, this would also endanger a vital food source in some coastal areas."

"Several fishes as we mentioned will be eliminated from these areas if they cannot quickly adapt to the changing salinity levels. Fishes are very sensitive to temperature too and some species - those that cannot swim very far - may go locally extinct", he added.

Prof Gopal pointed out a number of reasons behind the ecological degradation of the Bay of Bengal. These include increase in sea temperature, increase in salinity, habitat conversion of the marine fishes, massive resource consumption, introduction of exotic species and commercial exploitation or over-hunting.

According to an international study conducted by WorldFish with support from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), both coastal and landlocked countries in Africa, including Malawi, Guinea, Senegal and Uganda, four Asian tropical countries - Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Yemen and two countries in South America, Peru and Colombia, are the most economically vulnerable to the effects of global warming on fisheries.

Source: thefinancialexpress-bd.com

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