Bay of Bengal of Bounties Untold

The Bay of Bengal resonates with the zeal and endeavour of a team of passionate nature lovers. The idea of the book itself came to me in September 2016, when I attended the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Hawaii.

I acknowledge the insights from Mr Enam Ul Haque, chairman, WildTeam, and founder, Bangladesh Bird Club, Dr Md. Anwarul Islam, professor of zoology, University of Dhaka, and chief executive, WildTeam, Dr MA Aziz, professor of zoology, Jahangirnagar University, and a board member of the WildTeam, Dr Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury, associate professor of zoology, University of Dhaka, and a board member of the WildTeam, and Ms Alifa Bintha Haque, assistant professor of zoology, University of Dhaka. For valuable help in the preparation of the manu of this book, I thank Mr Muntasir Akash, lecturer in zoology, University of Dhaka. Thanks are due to Mr Scott Trageser, president of Biodiversity Group, and co-founder, Creative Conservation Alliance, for his comments on and review of the manu. Special thanks go to all board members of WildTeam for their cooperation and support.

Supported by the Cosmos Foundation, to assist the completion of the book, several expeditions were undertaken in the Bay of Bengal which resulted in new observations. I am extremely grateful to Mr Hamdan Chowdhury, underwater videographer of Behind the Mask, and Mr Oliver Deppert, director of Imagine Blue Media, and every participant in these expeditions. I thank Dr Subrata Sarker of the department of oceanography, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, for his expert opinion.

I owe a special debt of gratitude to every photographer and artist for their photographs, paintings, maps and illustrations presented for the book, and Mr ARK Reepon for his skill in graphics design.