Fishermen report that only 20 species can now be found there with around 30 species disappearing entirely
Located at the southeastern coast of Bangladesh, the Sandwip Channel, once home to over 60 species of fish, including the prized Hilsha, has become nearly barren, thanks to mindless industrial pollution and the adverse impacts of climate change.
Flowing between Chittagong’s Sitakunda upazila (sub-district) and Sandwip Island in the Bay of Bengal, this once-thriving marine habitat has already lost half the fish species.
Fishermen report that only 20 species can now be found there with around 30 species disappearing entirely, according to researchers. Heavily affected, fishermen who once relied on the abundant fish stocks in the area are now catching significantly fewer fish, even during peak seasons. The Hilsha, a flagship species in this region, too, is now scarce in the Sitakunda stretch of the channel, where over 20-25 ship-breaking yards are currently operational.
Those species that survive are often contaminated with heavy metals, most likely from the nearby ship-breaking yards.Due to the drastically reduced fish catches, many fishermen are suffering financial losses, forcing them to take out loans to survive. Faced with growing debt, a number of fishermen have begun exploring alternative livelihoods.
Double trouble
Researchers have pinpointed two major factors for the fish decline: extreme pollution from Sitakunda’s industrial hub, which includes the world’s largest ship-breaking industry and 400 other factories, and the effects of climate change.
When visiting the area, it is quite common to observe coloured, contaminated water flowing into the channel through at least seven canals in Bhatiary, Shonaichhari, and Kumira unions. Fishermen in the area voice their frustration, alleging that authorities have done little to address the pollution, leading to the depletion of fish populations.
Horilal Jaladas, 50, a lifelong fisherman from Jahanbad in Sitakunda, has witnessed a sharp decline in fish stocks since the late 1980s when the ship-breaking industry began to expand.
“We used to catch 20 to 30 species of fish all year round,” he said. “The Hilsha season was the time of huge netting of delicious fish, and we could repay loans taken during the off-season. Now, even during the peak Hilsha season, we incur huge losses.”
Narayan Chandra Jaladas, another local fisherman, said that over the past 20 years, the channel’s water has become warmer and more polluted with toxic discharges from nearby factories. “The water used to be clean and cool,” he noted. “Now it’s warmer, and the black, contaminated water makes it difficult for fish to survive.”
What the Fisheries Department says
Kamal Uddin, an official from the Sitakunda Fisheries Office, confirmed that over 400 factories and 60 ship-breaking yards in the upazila discharge untreated waste into the canals, which ends up falling into the Sandwip Channel.
“This industrial pollution has destroyed the channel’s biodiversity over the last 30 years,” he said, adding, many fish species have migrated to adjacent channels or the Bay of Bengal.
Over the last 10 years, Kamal said, fishermen have experienced dwindling catches, affecting the livelihoods of approximately 6,000 fishermen and their 12,000 family members in 26 fishermen neighbourhood, locally known as Jele Palli. Alongside the limited government aid, efforts are being made to help the troubled fishermen to find alternative jobs so they can make their ends meet.
Impact of heavy metal contamination
A research study titled ‘Changing Pattern of Heavy Metals Accumulation in and around the Ship-Breaking Area over 40 Years and Its Impact on Fish Diversity in Adjacent Areas of Bangladesh’ highlights the severe contamination caused by the ship-breaking industry.
High concentrations of heavy metals such as iron, lead, chromium, manganese, zinc, nickel, copper, cadmium and mercury have been found in sediment samples from the ship-breaking area. The research indicates that between 1980 and 2019, the levels of these metals increased up to eight times.
The fish species in great danger
This contamination has had a devastating effect on fish species, with around 30 species now either irregularly caught or nearing extinction, including Osteogenous staenocephalus (Katamachh) Scolopsis vosmeri (Nemipscol), Eleotris fusca (Dora bailya), Uranoscopus guttatus (Faton), Dendrophysa russelli (Kala poa), Bahaba chaptis (Chapti), Pomadasys opercularis (Grunti), Polynemus sextarius (Kala tailya), Gobuis sadanandio (Nandi baiyla), Gobuis melanosome (Kalthu bailya), Sphyraena fosteri (Khika), Sphyraena obtusata (Khika), Carangoides melampygus (Bungda muri), Saurida elongata(Tiktiki machh), Pricanthus macracavthus (Prica machh), Pricanthus tayenus (Prica machh), Cynoglossus macrolepidotus (Lamba kukurjib), Epinephelus lanceolatus (Bole coral), Otolithoides brunneus (Lombu fish), Cybium guttatuam (Maitya), Coilia ramkorati (Olua), Sphyraena forsteri (Dharkuta), Escualosa thoracata (Hichiri), Scomberooides commersonianus (Chapa Kori), Priacanthus tayenus (Pari machh), Polynemus paradiseus (Hriska machh), Carangoides malabaricus (Lahmuri mach) Anodontostoma chacunda (Koiputi machh), Arius thalassinus (Kata machh), and Apocryptes serperaster (Dora chau machh).
Fish species still surviving
Despite the devastation, about 20 species of fish can still be found in the channel, including Bombay Duck (Loitya machh), Sergastid shrimp (Gura chingri), Carfish (Kata machh), Anchoby (Alua machh), Brawn shrimp (Harina chingri), Trypauchen vagina (Lal cheuwa), Shrimp (Bagda, Dorakata, White Chingri), Ribbon fish (Chhuri mach), Black Jew fish (Kala poa), Hairpin Anchoby Hamilton’s (Phasa/Phaisya), Long thread tassel fish (Risshsha Topshe), Lady fish (Hundra machh), Hilsha shad (Ilish/ Jati ilish), Catfish (Guilda), Pomfret (Rupchanda), Giant seaperch/ Seabass (Koral/Bhetki), Mullet (Baata), Spanish mackerel (Maitya), Djeddaba crevalle (Moori), and Longspine Sea Bream (Lal Datina).
Sadly, their population, too, is declining.
Climate curse
Another study, “Present Status of Coastal Fisheries in Sitakunda Coast with Special Reference to Climate Change and Fish Catch,” links the deadly outputs from climate change with the declining fish populations. Between 1980 and 2010, Sitakunda experienced rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall, both of which have contributed to a less favorable environment for fish.
The study also found that around 30 fish species and other aquatic creatures have disappeared from the channel over the last 40 years. In the study (1980-2010), the highest and lowest average annual temperatures at Sitakunda coast were recorded 26.96°C (1988) and 24.64°C (1997) respectively which varied from 26.4°C to 33°C at Moheskhali channel in Cox’s Bazar.
On the other hand, in the coastal areas of Bangladesh, the highest average annual rainfall was recorded 540.63 mm in 2002 (July) at Sandwip Island and the lowest average annual rainfall 10.25 mm in 2010 (April) at Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar. In Sitakunda, the highest average annual rainfall was recorded 414.27 mm in 1983 (August) and the lowest average annual rainfall 57.50 mm was recorded in 1980 (April).
The research also revealed that besides declining fish catch per Set Bag Net (SBN), about 30 species of fishes and fins have disappeared from the channel in the last 40 years.
How an expert sees it
Dr M Muslem Uddin, an oceanography professor at the University of Chittagong, explained that rising temperatures, decreasing rainfall, and industrial pollution have increased the water’s acidity and reduced dissolved oxygen levels, further threatening marine life.
“These factors have driven fish populations to migrate to the Bay of Bengal,” he said.
“The rising sea levels are also eroding the coastal mangrove forests, which serve as essential fish habitats. Additionally, the flow of water from hilly streams into the channel, once rich with phytoplankton and zooplankton that fish feed on, is now contaminated with industrial waste, destroying the food chain,” he added.
He also noted the oil spillage by the ship-breaking industry and the vessels plying on the channel as another reason for the degrading biodiversity of the channel
Can the situation be reversed?
Researchers are cautious about the possibility of reversing the damage. “We cannot control climate change, but we can curb industrial pollution,” said Dr Uddin.
“We need industries for economic development, but not at the cost of environment”, he said.
The academic called for stricter environmental regulations and for all ship-breaking yards to be converted into ‘Green Yards’ that follow international standards.
Industries in the area need to be closely monitored to ensure they are not releasing untreated waste or solid waste into the canals that are flowing down to the channel, he emphasized, adding that an immediate action is imperative to saving the remaining fish populations and restoring some balance to the fragile ecosystem of the channel.
Department of Environment on dubious role
The Department of Environment (DoE), which is mainly responsible for issuing ‘Environment Clearance Certificate’ to the factories and yards confirming that the establishments do not cause any harm to the environment, seems lenient about the unchecked pollution. It comes despite researchers, Fisheries Department and local fishermen holding the ship-breaking yards and local industries responsible for the dilapidated condition of Sandwip channel.
Ferdaus Anwar, deputy director of the DoE Chittagong District Office, said that all the industries in Sitakunda do not discharge liquid waste. “Those who discharge have Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). Without checking or testing I cannot make any comment on the issue”, he added. Mentionable, the government, in a bid to ensure the safe disposal of hazardous waste, enacted the Bangladesh Ship Recycling Act in 2018, ordering the authorities concerned to build a Treatment Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF) within three years.
After that, the Ministry of Industries earmarked 20 acres of land in Sitakunda upazila for setting up the TSDF. However, the facility has yet to be set up.
