In Bangladesh, several familiar species of native fish have almost disappeared from the market over the past few decades.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says the fish on the way to becoming "nearly extinct" include baghair, pipla shol or bakka, mahashol, nandila, chanda, bhangan bata, kharki, kalo pabda and chenua, among others.

Professor Mostafa Ali Reza Hossain, director of Bangladesh's only fish museum, in Mymensingh, said 118 species of native fish are currently endangered in the country.

"The IUCN carried out two surveys to list Bangladesh's endangered animals. The first survey, in 2000, identified 54 species of fish as endangered. Then in the latest survey, in 2015, another 64 species were added."

"This list identified the fish that had not been seen in the past 10 or 20 years."

Although more than 100 native fish in Bangladesh are on the way to near extinction, no fish has yet been formally declared extinct.

The IUCN rule is that if no evidence of a species' existence is found in the 25 years after it was last seen, it is declared extinct.

Professor Hossain of the fish museum said a fish called nandil was once seen in the Mymensingh region, but there has been no evidence of it in the past 20 years.

Likewise, a fish called pipla shol used to be seen in the Sylhet region but is seen no longer; it has not been seen in the past 10 years.

"It has not been seen, but we still have to wait a few more years before declaring it extinct."

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.