Socio-Economic Context and Community Resilience among the People Involved in Fish Drying Practices in the South-East Coast of Bangladesh.

The south-east coast, specifically the Cox's Bazar region, of Bangladesh has achieved a tremendous impetus for producing a large volume of dried fish by involving thousands of marginalized coastal people. This study aimed to assess the socio-economic profile, livelihood strategies, and resilience of the communities engaged in fish drying on the south-east coast using a mixed-methods approach and an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The study's findings revealed that communities involved in drying were socio-economically undeveloped due to their lower literacy, unstable incomes, and labor-intensive occupations. Apart from notable child labor employed in fish drying in Nazirertek, female workers had relatively higher participation than males. Nevertheless, the female workers had less control over their daily wages and reported working at USD 3.54-5.89 per day, which was relatively lower than male workers who received USD 4.15-8.31 per day. Through fish drying activities, very few workers, producers, and traders were found to be self-reliant. In contrast, the livelihoods of the workers were not as secure as the processors and traders. In addition to suffering from various shocks and constraints, dried fish processors and workers, dried fish traders, off-season income, an abundance of fish species, fish drying facilities, trader's association, and social interrelationship played a significant role in maintaining community resilience. The study recommends appropriate interventions to alternative income diversification options, strong collaboration between communities, local authorities, and government for sustainable livelihoods and better community resilience.

Growth and digestive enzyme activities of rohu labeo rohita fed diets containing macrophytes and almond oil-cake.

The impact of plant-based diets on the digestive physiology of rohu Labeo rohita fingerlings (10.66 ±â€¯0.53 g) was evaluated. A diet with all protein supplied by fishmeal was included as a control (F). Four test diets containing 300 g/kg protein were formulated using the following plant ingredients and fishmeal in a 1:1 blend: almond oil-cake Terminalia catappa (FTC), duckweed Lemna minor (FLM), water fern Salvania molesta (FSM) and combination of these three ingredients (FTCLMSM). The final body weight and specific growth rate were significantly higher in rohu fed diet FLM compared to the other treatments. Significantly lower feed conversion ratio in rohu fed diet FLM showed that diet was utilized efficiently in this feeding regime compared to the other diets. The composition of diets also influenced the digestive enzyme activities of the fish. Thus, amylase, trypsin and chymotrypsin activities were significantly higher in rohu fed diet FLM compared to the rohu fed the other diets. Protease activity was significantly higher in rohu fed diets FTC and F and lipase activity was significantly higher in rohu fed diet FTC compared to the rohu fed the other diets. The inclusion of raw duckweed in feed replaced 300 g/kg of dietary fishmeal without affecting growth.

Baseline survey of micro and mesoplastics in the gastro-intestinal tract of commercial fish from Southeast coast of the Bay of Bengal.

Plastics pollution is ubiquitous. Microplastics (<5 mm in diameter) and mesoplastics (5-20 mm in diameter) are emerging as the most common plastic particulates found in the marine environment. In this study, the occurrence of microplastics and mesoplastics in the gastrointestinal tract (GI) of some commercially important fish collected from Chennai and Nagapattinam of Tamil Nadu, Southeast coast of Bay of Bengal was assessed. A new and improved alkaline digestion method, using alcoholic potassium hydroxide (KOH) was carried out to destroy the organic matter. Following this method, twenty plastic particulates were isolated from the GI tract of 17 individual fish. Fourier Transform Infrared Radiation analysis (FTIR) showed that polymers found in GI tracts were of Polyethylene, Polyamide and Polyester types. Given the dry fish is India's biggest market and popular delicacy, the presence of microplastics in the fish gut is a potential serious human health concern, as they are directly consumed.

Effect of radiation on the nutritional and microbial qualities of salted and sun-dried Sharpfin barracuda (Sphyraena acutipinnis).

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of low-dose gamma irradiation (5 kGy) on the nutritional and microbial qualities of sun dried fin fish, Sharpfin barracuda (Sphyraena acutipinnis). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Salted and sun-dried S. acutipinnis with 25.8% moisture content were exposed to total body irradiation with a dose of 5 kGy. Control groups were non-irradiated and both the control and irradiated samples were stored under ambient temperature. One week after irradiation, the control and irradiated samples were analyzed for nutritional, microbial and organoleptic properties. The data were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: The proximate composition and quality parameters like free fatty acid (FFA), Trimethyl amine nitrogen (TMA-N) and total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) were significantly different (p < 0.05). The organoleptic qualities of the irradiated fish products were good. Total bacterial count was reduced, whereas Salmonella, Vibrio and fungi were totally eliminated after irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: The irradiation helps to improve the quality and safety of sun-dried fishes. The process would not only reduce the risk resulting from pathogens but also would destroy many of the spoilage agents like bacteria, insects, parasites, moulds and yeasts which are known to be the main cause of food losses in developing countries.