The government has announced a new Marine Protected Area (MPA) near the Nihjum Deep to safeguard oceanic species there and explore the country's Blue Economy potentials.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) demarcated some 3,188 square kilometres (sq-km) as the new MPA to check any unplanned activities inside Bangladesh territory in the Bay of Bengal.
As per the MPA terms, any activity inside the area should be environment-friendly.
With this new one, the country now has two MPAs, with the Swatch of No Ground (SoNG) being the first one. As a result, Bangladesh's total MPA-declared area reached 4,926 sq-km.
Professor Dr Ainun Nishat, an expert of water resource management and climate change, welcomed the government's decision, saying it will be helpful to utilise the country's various sea resources.
Prof Nishat, a former country representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said the more the government declares MPAs, the more the country will be benefitted.
Declaring MPA near the Nihjum Deep will protect Hilsa sanctuary there, he hoped.
Any MPA, however, should be declared after conducting proper study, and should be maintained accordingly to ensure the highest yield (from it), opined Dr Nishat, who is now serving in the BRAC University.
The MoFL joint secretary on Blue Economy Md Towfiqul Arif said, "We have carried out separate studies by three different institutions before announcing the new MPA."
The IUCN, the Worldwide Conservation Society, and the Ecofish conducted the studies.
They have carried out social impact analysis over announcement of the area as MPA, he further said.
The MoFL has also identified a separate zone for fishermen nearby the protected area to check fishing in the new MPA. Before announcing the area as an MPA, fishermen used to catch fish there.
The fishermen, who will not get fishing opportunity there, will be supported under the Sustainable Coastal and Marine Fisheries Project, Mr Arif also said.
Dr Kawsar Ahmed, Founder Chairman of the Oceanography Department of Dhaka University, demanded a separate MPA in and around the St Martin's Island to keep the ecological system protected there.
He stressed on proper monitoring to ensure that the area is really protected from any ecological or environmental hazard.
Officials said the MoFL announced the SoNG as the first MPA in October 2014 to safeguard whales, porpoises, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and other oceanic species there. Subsequently, it is supporting an astonishing diversity of species in need of immediate protection.
The SoNG MPA is located near the borders of the Indian territorial waters. Spanning some 1,738 sq-km area with a depth of 900-plus metres, it includes deep waters at the head of the submarine canyon, from which it gets the name as well as coastal waters offshore the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove forest.
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