DNA sequences of five fish species and two shrimp species newly documented in the Sundarbans will be submitted to GenBank, the US-based international genetic database. The entries will establish the species’ genetic identities in the global scientific community and support future research on the forest’s aquatic life.
Who Carried Out the Study
The findings come from a 16-month project titled “Assessment of Aquatic Resources of the Sundarbans.” The Centre for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS) and the Arannayk Foundation conducted it jointly under the government’s Sundarbans Protection Project. Results will be handed to the Forest Department at a final workshop in Dhaka in November, and the department will then submit the sequences to GenBank.
How Researchers Surveyed the Mangroves
Between March 2024 and June 2025, the team surveyed 65 rivers and canals across the forest’s four ranges. They also ran boat surveys covering 424 kilometres and collected data from fish landing centres in Shyamnagar, Koyra, Mongla and Sharankhola.
The Seven Newly Recorded Species
The five fish species are large-scale mullet, keeled mullet, Burmese halfbeak, flathead goby and green-spotted goby. The two shrimp species are spider shrimp and spotted shrimp. None of their sequences had previously appeared in international genetic databases.
What the DNA Work Involved
Researchers combined traditional identification with molecular analysis using mitochondrial gene sequencing. They examined 83 fish and 28 crustacean samples and produced DNA barcodes for 30 fish and 11 crustacean species, 41 in total. The sequences matched international reference data at between roughly 98 and 100 per cent.
Sundarbans Species Count Rises
The survey confirmed 251 fish and 51 crustacean species in the areas studied. Combined with earlier research, the Sundarbans now has records of 382 fish species and 88 other aquatic species, including shrimp, crabs, snails, oysters, octopuses and squid. Sharankhola range recorded the most diversity, with 164 species.
Building on Earlier Genetic Research
Study leader Dr M Enamul Haque, a former director of the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, said sequences of 141 Sundarbans fish species had already been added to GenBank by earlier work. That research was led by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University with South Korean researchers and the Forest Department. The new submission adds species whose records were missing.
Threats the Study Flags
The researchers warn that overfishing, catching juvenile fish and poisoning rivers and canals are driving declines in valuable large fish such as barramundi, croakers and pangasius. These pressures threaten natural stocks in several parts of the forest.
Recommended Conservation Steps
The report proposes catch limits for selected species and a review of current fishing restrictions. It calls for a complete ban on poisoning waterways and on harmful fishing nets. It also suggests declaring canals such as Khodiyakhali, Atharobeki, Armal and Kagaboga protected breeding grounds, and creating alternative livelihoods for forest-dependent communities.
What Officials Say
Imran Ahmed, director of the Sundarbans Protection Project and a conservator of forests in Khulna, said the achievement would highlight the Sundarbans’ global importance. He added that short-, medium- and long-term plans are being drawn up to protect the forest’s aquatic resources in line with the study.
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