Bangladesh: Since the Bay of Bengal fishing restriction was lifted, hundreds of dead jellies weighing 10 to 15 kilos have been seen washing up on Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar Beach.
Experts and officials are concerned about the unusually high number of sea animals that have died.
Since July 23, more than 4,000 boats had entered the water in an effort to catch fish like hilsa, a type of Indian herring, which were the target of the 65-day fishing restriction, which was put in place to protect fish during their reproductive season.
According to Deepak Sharma, president of the Cox’s Bazar Forest & Environment Conservation Council, jellyfish frequently perish in small numbers throughout the winter but are infrequent during the rainy season or during the summer
“We had seen the dead jellyfish washing ashore not long after the government’s ban on fishing was removed as thousands of fishing vessels sailed in the Bay of Bengal.. We believe that the dead fish swam to the shore after being entangled in fishing nets in the ocean depths, said Sharma.
Fishermen do not collect or trade jellyfish that they catch in their nets. Instead, irrespective of whether they’re alive or not, they are released into the sea.
He said that marine pollution may possibly be a factor in the decrease in the number of dead jellyfish this week.
