The climate of Bangladesh has changed drastically which may put considerable adverse impacts on mangrove fishers but very few studies focused on this professional group. An attempt was made to perceive the impact and adaptation measures of the Sundarbans mangrove resource users, employing interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 150 respondents were randomly selected from the Sundarbans west under Shyamnagar Upazila of Satkhira District. It was revealed that the abundance of fishes, fuel woods, honey, golpata (Nypa fruticans), and shrimp post-larvae (PL) was reduced considerably. The resource users have adapted themselves by changing their occupation and becoming jobless and depending on the other family members. PL collection, honey collection, shrimp culture, and wood collection were found professional adapting strategies to adopt cyclone, flood, salinity intrusion, river erosion, and drought. Several recommendations are elicited, the implementation of which is important to ensure livelihood sustainability of the mangrove communities.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The present study was conducted to assess the temporal distribution of ichthyofaunal composition of Basurabad beel in Khulna, Bangladesh and investigated the fish biodiversity and core threats to biodiversity to provide recommendations for conservation in the beel. During the study period, total 33 fish species were recorded belonging to 6 orders. The order wise fish species availability was maximum in Perciformes (39.40%) and minimum in Beloniformis (3%). The value of Shannon-Weaver diversity index was found higher in Fultola (1.19±0.41) and lowest in Basurabad (0.68±0.17) while the maximum value of Margalef richness index found in Basurabad (1.12±0.35) and lowest in Debitola (0.68±0.34). The value of Pielou's evenness index was higher in Boroitola (0.61±0.20) and lowest in Basurabad (0.31±0.16) however the Pielou's index showed an uneven distribution of fish species in the Basurabad sampling point. The value of Simpson dominance index was higher in Fultola (0.58±0.10) and lowest in Kishmath-Fultola (0.39±0.16). Ten different kinds of fishing gears were identified under 5 major groups in the beel. Among all the gears operated, seine net (Jagat Ber Jal) had the highest catch 31.3±4.1 CC/haul/day/gear (kg) followed by current jal 10.5±2.5 CC/haul/day/gear (kg). This study suggests that comprehensive studies on fisheries biology including reproductive biology, growth, stock assessment and their association with existing laws are essential for the sustainable management and conservation of fish species in the Basurabad beel.