Commercially Important Shellfishes of Bangladesh

What is Shellfish?

Generally shellfish are aquatic invertebrates possess a shell or outer skeleton applied to a variety of marine and freshwater life. They are usually crustaceans and mollusks. Despite the name, shellfish are not a kind of fish, but are simply animals that live in water. They are mainly filter feeder and forage mainly phytoplankton and zooplankton.

 

Major Groups of Shellfish:

1. Crustaceans: Shrimp, Prawn, Lobster and Crab
2. Mollusks: Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, Bivalve and Cephalopods

 

Commercially Available Shellfish of Bangladesh:

1. Crustaceans:

1.1 Shrimp and Prawn

According to Ahmed (1990), a total of 56 species of shrimp and prawn are available in Bangladesh in both freshwater and marine water environment. Among which 4 species of shrimp and prawn are commercially exported to different countries of the World and 10 species are commercially exploited. Here a list of commonly harvested shrimp and prawn is given below:

Table 1: List of commonly harvested shrimp and prawn in Bangladesh

Group	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Prawn	Golda chingri	Giant River Prawn	Macrobrachium rosenbergii*
	Chatka chingri	Monsoon River Prawn	Macrobrachium malcolmsonii
Shrimp	Bagda chingri	Giant tiger Shrimp	Penaeus monodon*
	Baghtara chingri	Green tiger Shrimp	Penaeus semisulcatus
	Baghtara chingri	Kuruma Shrimp	Penaeus japonicus
	Chaga chingri	White Shrimp	Penaeus indicus*
	Bagha chama	Blue-tail Shrimp	Penaeus merguiensis
	Horney chingri	Speckled Shrimp	Metapenaeus monoceros*
	Honni/Nona chingri	Yellow Shrimp	Metapenaeus brevicornis
	Ghora chingri	Kadal Shrimp	Metapenaeus dobsoni
	Gura chingri	Roshma Shrimp	Palaemon styliferus
	Ruda chingri	Rainbow Shrimp	Parapenaeopsis sculptilis

* indicates commercially exportable species

 

1.2 Lobsters:

Ahmed (1990) reported a total of 3 species of lobsters are found with commercial importance in marine environment of Bangladesh-

Table 2: List of commercially important Lobsters species in Bangladesh

Group	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Spiny Lobsters	Chhoa Icha	Mud Spiny Lobster	Panulirus polyphagus
	Chhoa Icha	Ornate Spiny Lobster	Panulirus ornatus
	Nilcontok Lobster	Painted Spiny Lobster	Panulirus versicolor

 

1.3 Crabs:

According to Siddiqui and Zafar (2002), a total of 16 species of crabs are available in Bangladesh in both freshwater (4) and marine water (12) environment. Among which 3 species are exported commercially to different countries of the World. Here a list of economically important crab species is given below:

Table 3: List of economically important crab species in Bangladesh (Siddiqui and Zafar, 2002)

Family	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Portunidae	Shila Kankra	Giant Mud Crab	Scylla serrata*
	Sataru Kankra	Swimming Crab	Portunus pelagicus*
	Tin Fota Kankra	Three-spot Swimming Crab	Portunus sanguinolentus*
Grapsidae	Gasho Kankra	Paddler Crab	Metopograpsus thukuhar
	Gasho Kankra	Paddler Crab	Metopograpsus messor
	—	—	Parasesarma plicatum
	Kankra	Violet Vinegar Crab	Episesarma versicolor
Potamoniade	Kata Kankra	Freshwater Crab	Potamon woodmasoni
	Chimta Kankra	Spiny Crab	Potamon martensi
	Pati Kankra	Sartotina Crab	Paratelphusa lamellifrons
Ocypodidae	Holdepa Kankra	Fiddler Crab	Uca urvillei
	Kankra	Ghost Crab	Uca annulipes
	Lal Kankra	Horned-eyed Ghost Crab	Ocypode ceratophthalmus
Paguridae	—	—	Anapagurus laevis
Leucosiidae	—	—	Ebalia cranchii

* indicates commercially exportable species

 

2. Mollusks:

Among the shellfishes, molluscs belonging to 210 genera of gastropods, bivalves, clams, mussels, oysters and cephalopods have been recorded from Bangladesh (Siddiqui et al., 2007). The diversified molluscan fauna of Bangladesh, inhabiting the land, freshwater and saltwater, mainly includes chitons, ischnochitons (Class Polyplacophora), limpets, slugs, snails, conches (Class Gastropoda), oysters, mussels, clams, scallops (Class Bivalvia), nautilus, cuttlefish, squids amd octopuses (Class Cephalopoda).

 

2.1 Gastropods:

According to Siddiqui et al. (2007), so far 318 gastropods (20 land, 16 freshwater and 282 marine) have been recorded from the Bangladesh territory. Such as, Rachis, Semperula, Pila, Cypraea, Melo, Oliva etc. Hossain (2001) reported that, some important gastropods (Conus striatus, C. textile and C. geographes) are abundant coastal region, and two economically important gastropods (Trochus niloticus and Turbo marmoratus) that are heavily depleted worldwide are also present in coastal areas of Bangladesh. Trochus radiates and Trochus maculates are also found in Bangladesh.

 

2.2 Bivalves:

According to Siddiqui et al. (2007), so far 6 freshwater and 142 marine bivalves have been recorded from Bangladesh waters. Examples: Crassostrea, Pinctada, Lamellidens, Placuna, Mytilus etc.

Oysters: These are sedentary organisms that grow attached to rocks, gravel, tree roots or any hard object in the intertidal zone. Most species of oysters can tolerate low salinities and are therefore found in brackish waters in estuaries and marshes. Hossain (2001) stated seven species of edible oysters are found in the coastal areas of the country. According to DoF (1999), eight species of genus Pinctada and one species under Placuna belongs to pearl oyster are available in Bangladesh. Among them, Pinctada fucata is the best species for pearl production through induced technique.

Table 4: List of economically important oysters in Bangladesh (Hossain, 2001 and DoF, 1999)

Group	Family	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Edible Oyster	Ostreidae	Kostura	Coral Rock Oyster	Saccostrea cucullata*
		Kostura	Cupped Oyster	Crassostrea belcheri*
		Kosturi	Oyster	Crassostrea madrasensis *
Pearl Oyster	Pteriidae	Kostura	Rayed Pearl Oyster	Pinctada fucata*
		Kostura	Blacklip Pearl Oyster	Pinctada margaritifera*
		Kostura	Pearl Oyster	Pinctada anomioides
		Kostura	Pearl Oyster	Pinctada atropurpurea
		Kostura	Pearl Oyster	Pinctada maxima*
		Kostura	Rayed Pearl Oyster	Pinctada martensis
	Placunidae	Shada Chilon	Windowpane Oyster	Placuna placenta*

* indicates commercially important species

 

Mussels: A number of mussels are found in both freshwater and saline water environments of them four species are economically important. These are listed below-

Table 5: List of economically important mussels in Bangladesh (Hossain, 2001 and DoF, 1999)

Family	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Unionidae	Jhinuk	Freshwater Mussel	Lamellidens marginalis
	Jhinuk	Freshwater Mussel	Lamellidens jenkinsianus
Mytilidae	Kala Chilon	Green Mussel	Perna viridis
	Badami Jhinuk	Brown Mussel	Perna indicus

 

Clams: Few numbers of clams are found in coastal region of Bangladesh. Among them two species i.e., Meretix meretrix and Anadra sp. are found abundantly in the muddy coast of nearly all estuarine areas.

Table 6: List of important clams in Bangladesh

Family	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Veneridae	Chilon	Asiatic Hard Clam	Meretrix meretrix
Arcidae	Daitta Chilon	Ark Shaell	Anadara granosa
	Daitta Chilon	Antique Ark	Anadara antiquata
	Chilon	Ark	Scapharca sp.
	Kan Chilon	Decussate Ark	Barbatia foliata

 

2.5 Cephalopods: According to Hena (2006), three groups of cephalopods are found in coastal areas of Bangladesh belongs to a number of species of them three species are commercially important-

Table 6: List of economically important mussels in Bangladesh (Hossain, 2001 and DoF, 1999)

Group	Bengali name	English name	Scientific name
Cuttlefish	Lagra	Cuttlefish	Sepia aculeata*
	Firki	Pharaoh cuttlefish	Sepia formosana
Squid	Nuilla	Squid	Loligo edulis*
	Nuilla	Squid	Loligo indica
Octopus	Octopus	Grey Octopus	Octopus rugosus*
	Octopus	White-spotted Octopus	Octopus macropus

* indicates commercially important species

 

Others:

Turtles: Turtles are not molluscs or arthropods and they are reptiles. Three species of turtles viz., Caretta caretta, Chelonia sp. and Dermochelys sp. at commercial importance have been identified from Bangladesh territory.

 

References:

• Ahmed, M. K. 1991. Mud crab-a potential aqua-resource of Bangladesh, Report (REP-51), Bay of Bengal Program (BOBP), Madras, pp. 95-103.
• Ahmed. 1990. Studies on the identification and abundance of Molluscan fauna of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council.
• Azam, K., Kamal, D. and Mostafa, M. 1998. Status and potential of mud crab in Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of the National Seminar on Integrated Management of Ganges Flood Plains and Sundarbans Ecosystem. Khulna University, Khulna, Bangladesh. 16-18 July, 1994. pp. 150-160.
• DoF. 1999. Matshaw Sampad Unnayan O Karmasangsthan (Matshaw Saptaho Sankalan), Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka. 36 p.
• DoF. 2012. Jatiyo Matshaw Saptaho Sankalan, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka. 128 p.
• Ghosh, S. K. 2004 . Potentiality for the development of domestic and export market for mollusc (green mussel Perna viridis, clam Meretrix meretrix and oyster Crasostrea spp) in coastal Bangladesh. Report of a SUFER-DFID funded project.
• Hena, M. K. A. 2006. Composition of cephalopods in the Moheskhali channel, Cox’s Bazar, Research Report, Chittagong University, Bangladesh.
• Hossain, M. S. 2001. Biological aspects of the coastal and marine environment of Bangladesh”, J. Ocean Coast. Manage., 44: 261-282.
• Patterson, J. and Sainuel, V.D. 2005. Participatory approach of fisher women in crab fattening for alternate income generation in Tuticorin, southeast coast of India. Asian Fisheries Science. 18: 153-159.
• Siddiqui, K. U., Islam, M. A., Kabir, S. M. H., Ahmad, M., Ahmed, A. T. A., Rahman, A. K. A., Haque, E. U., Ahmed, Z. U., Begum, Z. N. T., Hassan, M. A., Khondker, M. and Rahman, M. M. (eds.). 2007. Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh, Vol. 17. Molluscs. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, 415 p.
• Siddiqui, M. Z. H. and Zafar, M. 2002. Crabs in the Chakaria Sundarban area of Bangladesh. J. Nat. Ocean Marit. Inst., 19: 61-77.
• Zafar, M. 2004. Culture of mud crab Scylla serrata in the coastal area of Bangladesh. DFID-UGC super Project Report, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong, Chittagong, Bangladesh. pp. 6-16.

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