A new fish has been found in the Sundarbans. Larger than the common puffer fish, it has been named "boro jali potka" by scientists. The fish was found at Dublar Char in the Sundarbans.

One more new life has been added to the earth's 87 lakh (8.7 million) species. This species of puffer fish lives only in the Sundarbans. A team of Bangladeshi and South Korean researchers led by Professor Kazi Ahsan Habib of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University discovered it. Three researchers from South Korea's Marine Ecosystem Research Center were involved.

The fish was found at Alor Kol in the Dublar Char area of the Sundarbans. Its scientific name, Chelonodontops bengalensis, comes from the Bay of Bengal. Its body is dark with net-like blotches, so the scientists gave it the Bengali name "boro jali potka". Sundarbans fishermen used to find it in their nets now and then and called it the big puffer, but they did not eat it and threw it away after catching it, they said.

Professor Kazi Ahsan Habib, dean of the Faculty of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Science at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, told Prothom Alo: "With just a year and a half of fieldwork we have found a new species, not only for the Sundarbans but for the world. This discovery will play an important role in fisheries science research worldwide."

Scientists found the fish during scientific surveys in the Sundarbans between May 2016 and December 2017. South Korea's Yeosu Korea Foundation provided funding, and the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology gave technical support. The research paper on the discovery has been published in the international oceanography journal Ocean Science.

Professor Md Niamul Naser, a fish researcher in the zoology department of Dhaka University, told Prothom Alo: "A new name has been added to Bangladesh's list of fish, which is certainly good news. We have found several new fish in the country's hill and coastal areas before, but for the Sundarbans this is certainly a new event."

According to the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, 442 fish species are found in the country's marine waters and 265 freshwater species in its rivers. Among puffer fish, two species are found in fresh water and 26 in the sea. Now another fish has been added to the list. Because puffer fish contain some toxic substances, people in Bangladesh generally do not eat them, but they are very popular in Japan, South Korea and China. There is a special way of cutting the fish that removes the toxic parts.

Source: Prothom Alo. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.