Jellyfishes pictured in the Cox's Bazar beach.
Dhaka, Nov 26: Jellyfish has always been considered an inedible and therefore useless catch by the fishing communities in Bangladesh’s coastal districts. Despite never being considered as commercially viable, new research by Bangladeshi scientists indicates jellyfish can eventually become a source of export earnings.
As elsewhere, the coast of Bangladesh hosts to a large number of jellyfishes. However researchers do not yet know how many jellyfishes are there in the waters of Bangladesh. The amount will have to be verified in the research they have now started.
Made up of 90 percent water, jellyfishes have no brain, blood, or bones.
Scientists say that the number of jellyfish depends largely on the salinity and temperature of the water. Due to the lack of rain this year, the salinity of the seawater was high, resulting in an abundance of jellyfish washing up the shore.
Md. Rashed-Un-Nabi, Professor, Department of Fisheries, Chittagong University said, "Many countries in the world are researching on how to utilise jellyfish, we have also started research. It shows that it has a lot of economic potential.”
Scientists saw a boom or excess of jellyfish on Patuakhali beach and Cox's Bazar beach in August. At that time, many fishermen were forced to cut their nets because they were filled with jellyfish.
Golam Mostafa, associate professor of Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) said, “We can divide the jellyfish found in the sea of Bangladesh into three categories.”
“One is edible jellyfish. We don't eat it here. But it is on demand as food in Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, and China. Each of these jellyfish species can weigh up to 8 to 10 kg each,” he said.
As a result, it is possible to export jellyfish if extracted commercially, Mostafa said. This type of jellyfish can also be used as raw material for the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industry.
There is another type of jellyfish, which is poisonous. Physical contact with this type can damage a person’s nervous system and lead to paralysis. However it is only a very specific subtype of jellyfish that tends to be poisonous.
Box Jellyfish, so-called for its box-like physique, is classified as one of the most venomous creatures on Earth, containing toxins that attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells.
Golam Mostafa observes that fishermen need to be made aware of and trained on this type of jellyfish.
“The damage caused to fishermen is also an economic loss. On most occasions fishermen do not understand this properly,” he adds.
The third and type of jellyfish found in Bangladesh is a very small creature. These are used in aquariums for recreational use. Many countries, including Thailand, have such aquariums, where palm-shaped transparent jellyfish are kept. The colour of the light cast determines its colour. It is a very attractive thing for tourists,'' Golam Mostafa, an associate professor of NSTU said.
He said that researchers of oceanography and fisheries departments of some universities and the Bangladesh Oceanographic Research Institute (BORI) are working on the potential of jellyfish.
Jellyfish is the main source of food for sea turtles. Scientists do not consider it a fish because it does not have bones. They consider the small species as plankton (usually microscopic, often less than one inch in length, but they also include larger species. Although the jellyfish does not have a brain, it has nerves throughout its body.
Researchers have found that jellyfish diverged from other sea creatures billions of years ago when marine life evolved.
It is called ‘Nuinna’ in Cox's Bazar - from ‘noon’ meaning salt. Almost the entire body is made of water, which is salty. Therefore the name of the area too is Nuinnachara.
The present research will basically be a baseline containing rudimentary information like the size of the jellyfish population. The eventual export potential of jellyfish depends on a number of factors beyond the novelty and enthusiasm. - GreenWatch News Desk with UNB