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Travel to the Hidden Island in the Bay of Bengal

May 5, 2025 Explore the World 0Comments 60Views 0Likes
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Travel to the Hidden Island in the Bay of Bengal

There is a hidden island in Bangladesh’s blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. This island is submerged underwater for most of the year.

Migratory birds and red crabs inhabit this island, while speckled sandbanks are also covered by blue water on either side. It appears to be a magical island from a distance and remains unknown to many. It can be compared to Saint Martin, about 40 kilometers from the coast of Kuakata. The island is only visible during the winter and dry season when the water level decreases. Occasionally, fishermen visit this uninhabited island, but it is quite rare.

I traveled to this island from Barguna in the middle of the Bay of Bengal with some fishermen. The journey on their fishing trawler was thrilling, and upon reaching the island, it felt like stepping onto a heavenly shore.

Hidden Island in the Bay of Bengal

May 5, 2025 Explore the World 0Comments 38Views 0Likes
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Bangladesh has many islands along its coastal area, and in the past decade, several new islands have emerged, leading to a revision of the country’s map.

Some new islands have formed in the open sea, with a few visible only during the dry season, while others remain submerged throughout the year. Seagoing vessels, particularly fishing boats, and trawlers, often encounter these submerged islands cause they get stuck on them.

During my sea travels with fishermen in the southern districts of Barguna and Patuakhali, I encountered some of these islands one by one in my new Vlog, and I’ve included the first episode here. Feel free to check it out.

The harsh reality of fishermen in Bangladesh and their struggle for survival

April 4, 2025 People & Cultures 0Comments 92Views 0Likes
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Fishing by fishermen in the sea of ​​Bangladesh is a wonder. Seeing them fishing seems like a depiction of a story heard from history.

I was in the Nidra area of ​​​​the seashore of Taltoli upazila of Barguna district. Every day, the fishermen here go fishing in the sea, calculating the tides. They sometimes fish alone or in groups during the day or at night.

Fishing in the sea is hazardous. Yet fisherman catches fish for their livelihood. Most of the fishermen who fish in the sea live in coastal areas. Due to their poor financial condition, they live in houses made of tin, wood or straw. Cyclones occur in the Bay of Bengal almost every year. Moreover, they are all affected by various storms, clouds, and excessive tides. Many of the fishermen still live outside the embankment. Due to this, the damage would be more significant if any natural disaster occurred.

The livelihood of fishermen in coastal areas changes greatly depending on the season. During the rainy season, they fish in the sea with storm clouds on their heads. At this time, they get more fish. However, during the monsoon, many houses in the coastal areas are flooded due to rising water levels. So sometimes they have to look for a place to rest elsewhere during this time.

In winter, the picture here is the opposite. As the water level decreases, some fishermen build temporary houses on the seashore. They dry fish there. Fish traders come from different districts for this purpose. They often develop or buy trawlers and let the fishermen catch fish in the sea. Then, they build houses on the seashore and dry the fish in the sun in front. Many fishermen make a profit by selling dried fish in the market. In addition, fishermen also catch fish individually. They see fresh fish and sell them in the local market. And those who go to the sea with big trawlers catch fish in groups and sell them in the market to earn money.

Delicious Ponyfish

March 4, 2025 Explore the World 0Comments 95Views 0Likes
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Delicious PonyfiSh​

Marine ponyfish are beautiful to look at and delicious to eat, although they have many bones. Fishermen on the Bangladeshi coast call them Thutuni Chanda.

The English name of this fish is Deep Pugnose Ponyfish. Scientific name Deveximentum Ruconius. They are found in the Indo-West Pacific: Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, north to Taiwan, China, south to northern Australia and New Caledonia. This fish of the Deveximentum genus lives in freshwater as well as saltwater. They belong to the Leiognathidae family and have eight species.

A strange creature at the bottom of the Sea

March 4, 2025 Explore the World 0Comments 128Views 0Likes
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A strange creature at the bottom of the Sea

Travelling to the Bay of Bengal has always been a journey to discover something new. On the second day of my 13-day sea voyage, I saw a sea pen, a marine animal, and fish caught in fishermen’s nets.

At that time, I was in a fishermen’s trawler 35 kilometres off the coast of Barguna district in Bangladesh. The fishermen call it Rasgolla Misti, although they know little about it.

Some species of this sea pen look like ancient quill pens, which are made of bird feathers. That is why this creature is called a sea pen. The scientific name of this sea pen is Cavernularia Obesa. This creature is found in the Indo-Pacific region. This species is also called sea cactus. They are Bioluminescence.

Sea pens belong to the Pennatulacea order and the Octocorallia class. The body of the sea pen is very soft. They are found from shallow water to 20 thousand feet below the sea. However, they live more in the Benthic Zone of the sea floor.

Sea pens are filter feeders, meaning they have filtering organs in their bodies with which they eat organic matter, food particles, or tiny organisms from the water. Therefore, they are also called water-cleaning engineers of the ocean ecosystem. Depending on the species, these animals form separate colonies on the sea floor. They have 450 species in 35 genera and 14 families.

Sea pens are eaten by starfish and sea slugs or nudibranchs. Sea slugs look like snails. However, they do not have a hard shell.