Hydrobiologia 457: 97104, 2001. 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.

97

Abundance and seasonal distribution of Penaeus monodon postlarvae in the Sundarbans mangrove, Bangladesh
M. Enamul Hoq3 , M. Nazrul Islam1 , M. Kamal1 & M. Abdul Wahab2
1 Department

of Fisheries Technology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh of Fisheries Management, BAU, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh 3 Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh 2201, Bangladesh
2 Department

Received 20 June 2000; in revised form 2 April 2001; accepted 20 April 2001

Key words: mangrove, Penaeus monodon, abundance, salinity, shery

Abstract We record the decline of Penaeus monodon postlarvae (PL) in ve rivers of the worlds largest mangrove ecosystem, the Sundarbans, from 1992 to 1999. Shrimp aquaculture in the coastal belt of Bangladesh is dependent on the collection of P. monodon PL from the coastal rivers, and horizontal expansion of shrimp farming has resulted in a severe decline of this wild resource in the Sundarbans. Abundance of P. monodon PL was signicantly (P<0.05) reduced in 1999 compared to the previous two-year studies (1992 and 1995) in the rivers. About 12551 postlarvae of other shrimps, 5152 nsh postlarvae and 261636 other macro-zooplankters are wasted during the collection of a single P. monodon PL. Water temperature and salinity of the river systems are correlated with P. monodon PL abundance. Besides P. monodon PL, inshore shery of Hilsa ilisha, catshes and Scylla serrata are also overexploited. The management practices and conservation of shery resources of Sundarbans are reviewed in the context of its world heritage status.

Introduction The Sundarbans, the largest single compact mangrove ecosystem in the world, is located in the Gangetic Delta, spanning an area of about one million hectares in South-west Bangladesh and the South-eastern part of the State of West Bengal in India. The Sundarbans are a complex estuarine ecosystem, dominated by dense forest and classied as a tropical moist forest. The sheries resources of the Sundarbans constitute 25% of the total capture sheries of Bangladesh (Rabbani & Sarker, 1997). Its waters constitute rich habitats for many sh species and serve as shing grounds for the local human communities. Extensive sampling has shown that juvenile penaeid prawns are often highly abundant in mangrove habitats (Boonruang & Janekaru, 1985; Chong et al., 1990; Sasekumar et al., 1992). This nursery role of mangroves has also been demonstrated by studies that compare shrimp populations in mangroves and other habitats (Robertson & Duke, 1987; Chong et

al., 1990). The rapid expansion of coastal aquaculture in Bangladesh, coupled with a trend towards shrimp monoculture, has resulted in a tremendous demand for the seed of tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon. But a paucity of shrimp hatcheries has attracted thousands of coastal sherfolk to collecting P. monodon PL from Sundarbans and nearshore waters, causing destruction of non-target species and damage to nursery grounds. It is estimated that 10 kg of sh and shrimp larvae are destroyed by the collection of every 1 kg of tiger shrimp PL in the Sundarbans of West Bengal, India (Silas, 1987). In Bangladesh, up to 5000 shrimp PL may be wasted for every 100 marketable shrimp PL captured by collectors (BOBP, 1990). This paper examines the present status of sheries resources and the loss of biodiversity by wild P. monodon PL collection in Sundarbans rivers. Materials and methods The Bangladesh Sundarbans covers an area of 5772

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Figure 1. The ecological zones of Sundarbans and the sampling stations.

99 km2 of which 3995 km2 is land and 1777 km2 is water, sketching between 21 30 N and 22 30 N, and 80 E and 89 55 E. Unlike most mangrove forests, the Sundarbans is not dominated by members of the family Rhizophoraceae. Based on species composition and salinity ecological zones, the Sundarbans Reserve Forest (SRF) has been classied into three zones: freshwater, moderate saltwater and saltwater (Fig. 1). The zonation of the Sundarbans is dened by the distribution of three forest species; sundri (Heritiera fomes, Sterculiaceae), gewa (Excoecaria agallocha, Euphorbiaceae) and goran (Ceriops decandra, Rhizophoraceae). All three occur throughout the Sundarbans but in different proportions depending on salinity. Five rivers were selected for studying losses by P. monodon PL collection. Passur, Sibsa and Koyra rivers represent freshwater, Kholpatua river represents semi-saline, and Madar river is saline (Fig. 1). Three samplings, each of 2 years, were carried out from 1992 to 1999 in these river systems. Samples were collected fortnightly from each river during new and full moons. At least 4 samples were collected per sampling. A rectangular dredge net of nylon netting (mesh size 1 mm) and bamboo spilt structure (1.60.6 m2 ) was used (these nets, along with xed nets, prepared with the same materials are widely used for wild shrimp seed collection in nearshore waters, mangrove estuaries and tidal creeks) to assess the damage caused to shellsh and nsh while collecting P. monodon PL. For each sample, the net was dragged twice, starting from shallow waters and continuing to the adjacent shore, covering a total area of 50 m2 . The collected specimens were cleaned of any twigs, leaves, large organisms and preserved in 5% formalin. Shrimp and sh larvae and juveniles were identied by examining external morphological characters, body shape, and body proportions (FAO, 1974; Howlader, 1976; CMFRI, 1978; Paul, 1995; Jeyaseelan, 1998). Surface water temperature and salinity were measured using a Salinity Refractometer (ATAGO S/MillE) and Alkaline Thermometer. Annual rainfall data was provided by the Department of Metrology. Statistical analysis was performed using the STATGRAPHIC (7.0) package. Results Loss of biodiversity Penaeus monodon PL collection trends between 1992 to 1999 are presented in Table 1. Availability of P. monodon PL was signicantly (P<0.05) reduced in 1995 and 1998 compared to 1992 in all rivers except Kholpatua. In Kholpatua river, abundance of P. monodon declined in 1995, but increased in 1999. The abundance of P. monodon was highest in Kholpatua river, located in the semi-saline zone, followed by the rivers of the freshwater zone (Passur, Sibsa and Koyra), and lowest abundance occurred in the saline zone (Madar). Occurrence of other shrimp spp. and nshes were comparatively low in Kholpatua river in 1995. Composition of macro-zooplankton in different rivers in 3 years did not differ signicantly. Shrimp species other than P. monodon included Penaeus indicus, Metapenaeus monoceros, M. brevicornis, Palaemon styliferus, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, M. villosimanus, M. dyanus, M. dolichodactylus and M. rude. The main nsh were Mugil parsia, Lates calcarifer, Glosogobius giuris, Hilisha ilisha, Pangasius pangasius, while macro-zooplankton included Acetes spp., mysids, alima larvae, copepods, isopods and megalopa larvae. Postlarvae of other shrimp species and of sh are harvested together with P. monodon in collectors net. The collectors pick out the PL of P. monodon, and discard the other species. It was estimated that to catch a single P. monodon PL, 12551 postlarvae of other shrimps, 5152 nsh postlarvae and 261636 other macro-zooplankton are wasted (Table 2), a high rate of wastage. Table 3 represents the correlation of P. monodon postlarval abundance with water temperature and salinity. A signicant correlation of PL abundance with temperature and salinity existed in the Passur and Sibsa rivers in 19951996, and in Sibsa and Madar rivers in 19921993, respectively. Natural environment Seasonal variation was observed in the abundance of P. monodon PL. P. monodon PL were found year-round but peak abundance was from October to February, linked to the moderate salinity of the river water (Fig. 2). Mean yearly rainfall was 1543, 2033 and 2563 mm in 19921993, 19951996 and 19981999, respectively. The seasonal variation in surface water temperature ranged from 19.4 to 33.9 C in 1992 1993, a difference of 14.5 C. In 19951996, it ranged between 17.2 and 33.4 C, a difference of 16.2 C and in 19891999 it was between 21.7 and 33.4 C, a difference of 11.7 C. Annual lows occurred in

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Table 1. Yearly catch composition (per cent individual/unit effort) of P. monodon PL, other shrimp spp., nsh and macro-zooplankton in ve rivers of Sundarbans Mangrove rivers 19921993 Passur Sibsa Koyra Av. Kholpatua Madar Av. 2.30a 0.22a 1.13a 1.22a 1.79a 1.09a 1.37a P. monodon 19951996 19981999 0.50b 0.18a 0.34b 0.34b 0.06b 0.44b 0.28b Finsh 19951996 9.96a 2.06b 5.95a 5.99a 1.02b 5.52a 4.18a 0.17c 0.06b 0.16b 0.13b 0.17b 0.19c 0.17b Yearly catch SE 0.66 0.05 0.30 0.33 0.56 0.27 0.38 19921993 27.67b 10.51b 17.96a 18.72a 20.30a 26.82a 21.95a Other shrimp 19951996 19981999 47.76a 9.84b 16.76a 24.79a 3.70b 17.16b 15.22b 16.74b 33.07a 24.29a 24.70a 17.53a 9.37c 17.20b SE 9.08 7.63 2.34 2.01 5.13 5.05 2.00

19921993 Passur Sibsa Koyra Av. Kholpatua Madar Av. 10.82a 3.48b 12.48a 8.93a 4.30a 5.34a 6.19a

19981999 16.93a 9.13a 10.67a 12.25a 6.93a 2.37a 7.19a

SE 2.19 2.16 1.95 1.81 1.71 1.02 0.89

Macro-zooplankton 19921993 19951996 59.21a 85.79a 68.43b 71.15a 74.74b 66.75c 70.88a 41.78b 87.92a 76.95a 68.89a 95.23a 76.89b 80.34a

19981999 66.16a 57.74b 64.88b 62.93a 75.37b 88.07a 75.46a

SE 7.25 9.72 3.58 2.45 6.73 6.16 2.73

Operating a dredge net (1.60.6 m2 ) in 50 m2 as a unit effort. Average sum of 96 samples (4 samples for new and full moon each in a month) from each river.

Figures in the same row with same superscript letter did not differ signicantly at 5% level.

Table 2. Number of species wasted for each P. monodon PL collected during 19921999 Rivers Passur Species Other shrimp Finsh Macro-zooplankton Other shrimp Finsh Macro-zooplankton Other shrimp Finsh Macro-zooplankton Other shrimp Finsh Macro-zooplankton Other shrimp Finsh Macro-zooplankton 19921993 12 5 26 48 16 390 16 11 61 31 7 113 25 5 61 19951996 96 20 84 55 11 488 49 18 226 60 17 1636 33 12 242 19981999 98 100 389 551 152 963 152 67 406 103 41 443 49 12 464

Sibsa

Koyra

Kholpatua

Madar

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Table 3. Correlation coefcient of P. monodon PL abundance with temperature and salinity in ve river systems of Sundarbans Parameters Temperature ( C) Year Passur 19921993 19951996 19981999 19921993 19951996 19981999 0.461 0.712 0.212 0.420 0.362 0.446 Sibsa 0.241 0.551 0.241 0.642 0.432 0.160 Rivers Koyra 0.504 0.347 0.269 0.012 0.086 0.444

Kholpatua 0.022 0.071 0.334 0.055 0.302 0.013

Madar 0.060 0.011 0.135 0.669 0.448 0.223

Salinity (ppt)

=P<0.05.

Table 4. ANOVA of the effects of year, month, river and interaction on temperature and salinity in Sundarbans mangrove during 19921999 Parameters Temperature ( C) River Year Month YearRiver MonthRiver YearMonth Salinity (ppt) River Year Month YearRiver MonthRiver YearMonth 4 2 11 14 59 11 4.78 33.47 736.45 89.27 2395.33 2209.60 0.08 ns 1.00 ns 51.91 0.36 ns 8.20 43.29 d.f SS F values

effect of year and months in the temperature and salinity regimes.

Discussion The Bangladesh coast supports a 587 400 ha of natural mangroves and a further 100 000 ha of planted mangroves. This vast network acts as a habitat of many species, particularly young stages of shell and nsh (Mahmood et al., 1994). A positive correlation between nearshore yields of sh and mangrove area has been documented elsewhere (Martosubroto & Naamin, 1977; Staples et al., 1985; Camacho & Bagarinao, 1987). In recent years, the nearshore sheries have been over-exploited along the Bangladesh coast. Mass shrimp fry collection is a threat to the coastal ecosystem, causing damage to the nursery grounds of many species, and to newly planted mangroves as well as to reserve forests (Saikat, 1992). The Sundarbans waters support 208 species of sh and crustaceans in 84 families (IUCN, 1994), a higher total than that for other tropical mangroves (Robertson & Blaber, 1992). The total landed harvest, including the offshore catch, may be as high as 75 000 MT (MARC, 1995). The mean sh biomass is 39 kg/ha, comparable to the Rhizophora-dominated forests of Malaysia (Sasekumar et al., 1994). The yield of Sundarbans sheries have started declining for a number of years, except for P. monodon PL and crab (Rabbani & Sarker, 1997). However, P. monodon PL and crab in the tidal waters are also overshed. Estimation of yield, exploitation rate and MSY of major species in SRF was determined by Chantarasri (1994) and Smith (1995). The shery of Hilsa ilisha, Pangasius pangasius, Plotossus spp., Scylla serrata were found to be over-exploited at E=0.36

4 2 11 14 59 11

612.45 173.05 1820.14 2301.34 7558.61 5456.36

4.41 ns 1.79 ns 11.32 4.23 13.38 25.63

(d.f=degrees of freedom, SS=sums of squares, MS=SS/d.f, F=MS Group/MS within group). =P<0.05, ns=not signicant.

January and highs in June with the exception of 1989 1999 when the highest temperature occurred in April. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed signicant (P<0.05) inter-month variations in temperature in the rivers (Table 4). Salinity ranged from 0.5 to 23 in 19921993, 0.6 to 22 and 0.5 to 30 in 19951996 and 19981999. In general, low salinity occurred between August and December. Following the monsoon, salinity steadily increased to reach its maximum in May. There followed a decline from June to a minimum in the monsoon months (JulySeptember). In the Passur and Sibsa rivers, salinity fell below 1 from August to November. ANOVA indicates a signicant (P<0.05)

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Figure 2. Monthly variation of Penaeus monodon PL with salinity during 19981999 in different rivers of Sundarbans.

0.42. The exploitation of Lates calcarifer was estimated to be at optimum at present. The yield was about 150 MT. Increasing the effort would give a lower yield. The shing of Johnius argentus is nearly fully exploited. The present M. rosenbergii shery is far from the optimum. The exploitation of gastropod and oyster seems to be underutilized. Estimates of sustainable yield require accurate base data, and more data of greater reliability will be needed before precise target yields can be set for SRF, and only preliminary investigations have been made. Hilsa (H. ilisha) accounts for nearly 30% of total sheries of Bangladesh. Out of an annual total of 120 000 MT, nearly 13 000 MT comes from the

Sundarbans. Hilsa landing in SRF was reduced by 38% in recent years from 10 years back. Long-term changes in biological behavior, particularly in spawning and migratory habits as a result of changes in the morphology and hydrology of the major river systems of Bangladesh, may be responsible for this. The mud crab (S. serrata) is harvested on an increasing scale from the Sundarbans and is currently a lucrative business. The quantity of crabs brought to the market has nearly doubled in the last 5 years. The potential of crab shery seems to be vast and the prospects of its culture, just as with shrimp, need to be explored. During shrimp fry collection crab seed are indiscriminately destroyed.

103 A prominent feature of the SRF shery is that, for as long as records have been kept, its size has been expanding. This expansion will need to be controlled if sh and crustacean stocks are to be conserved for the future. Without control, recruitment overshing will occur and stocks of the currently most heavily exploited species will crash. Fishermen will then target other, currently less desirable species, and under increased shing pressure, these populations too will crash. The number of euryhaline shes in Sundarbans water is thereby gradually diminishing (Jana & Ghatterjee, 1974). In the present study, monthly variation in abundance of P. monodon PL was observed in its rivers. Although P. monodon PL is available throughout the year, its density was high in freshwater rivers (Table 1, Fig. 2), except in Sibsa, but the sampling station located in Sibsa was further away from the estuary than other river systems under study. Moreover, river discharge in Sibsa was high, due to the presence of large numbers of shrimp farms in and around. Generally, P. monodon PL was abundant from October to February, associated with moderate salinity. A major peak in abundance did not occur, however, during our study years. This decline of P. monodon PL from 1992 to 1999 is a potential threat to their future. Primavera (1998) and Basu et al. (1998) observed two peaks for penaeid recruitment and settlement, in winter and premonsoon, at average salinity and high temperature. A similar trend was found in the present study. Zafar & Mahmood (1994) observed highest density of penaeid post larvae in July at high salinity and lowest in March in estuarine waters near Sundarbans. P. monodon PL is available year-round, but its abundance is limited when required for stocking in coastal aquaculture ponds. Water temperature in the ve rivers studied was negatively correlated with P. monodon PL abundance. Only 4 times was it positively correlated in Sibsa, Kholpatua and Madar rivers. Salinity have positive, in some cases signicant correlation, with PL abundance. The salinity has been found to determine the recruitment of prawn populations (Easo & Mathew, 1989), and at moderate rainfall, extends the nursery area (Garcia & Le Reste, 1981). Our results indicate that the recruitment of other shrimps, nshes and macro-zooplankton components of the aquatic food chain will severely decline within the next few years as the consequence of extensive P. monodon shrimp PL collection. It is essential that the shrimp postlarvae reach the small creeks and brackish waters of the estuaries to nd shelter and food. The recruitment of shrimp in the deep sea is directly dependent on the survival of this juveniles in the mangrove nursery grounds. If these are reclaimed and/or juveniles are captured, this will negatively reect on the adult population. This scenario will also apply to nsh larvae, indiscriminately exploited with the targeted P. monodon PL, with disastrous effects on artisanal and commercial sheries in the near future. The IUCN has declared the Sundarbans a World Heritage Site in 1999 and the Govt. of Bangladesh has pledged to refrain from any deliberate measuresdirect or indirect, which might damage the Sundarbans and to take appropriate legal, scientic and nancial measures to ensure its protection. However, with over 3.5 million people depending directly or indirectly on the Sundarbans for their livelihood, the forest has been reduced alarmingly from even 20 years ago (Chaffey, 1985). Overshing and over-exploitation of plant and wildlife species are placing great stress on the viability of this ecosystem.

Conclusions At present, overshing already occurs in some species and many other species are at risk. There is a need for the introduction of hatcheries and a strict regulation on the mesh size of nets, release of unwanted species back to the water, and improved methods of preserving live P. monodon PL to reduce post-harvest mortality. Measures to regulate the SRF shery by the introduction of closed seasons and protected zones should be considered. The migration of sh and crustaceans from protected areas to the overshed waters could help the shery to be sustained. Regulation of size at rst capture and mesh size should be enforced by random inspection. The size of the shery should be controlled by limiting the number of weekly gear licenses issued.

Acknowledgements The partial funding from World Bank nanced ARMP (Agricultural Research Management Project-FRI part) is greatly acknowledged. The authors are thankful to the scientic staffs of Brackishwater Station, BFRI, Khulna, Dr S.U. Ahmed and M.M. Islam, for providing data, and Mr A. Baki and M.S. Hossain for help with eld collections.

104 References
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