In Narail district, snails and clams are being collected indiscriminately from canals, wetlands, and other waterbodies, despite restrictions set by the Department of Environment (DoE).

These snails and clams are being supplied to shrimp farms in Narail and other southern districts. Sources report that roughly 40 waterbodies in the district are exploited daily for snail harvesting.

A field visit and local accounts revealed that in Sadar upazila, villages such as Nakshi, Auria, Barirdanga, Sitarampur, Tularampur, Muliya, Bamanhat, Maijpara, Shahabad, Borashula, Nalamara, Kararbil, Fedi, Ratdanga, Kamalapur, Kalirdob, Harivanga Gobra, Mirzapur, Agdia, and Basgram, as well as in Lohagara upazila’s Jhuktia, Giletla, Erenda, Brammondanga, Noldi, Mithapur, Lahuaria, Kalna, Itna, Batashi, Digholia, Kumri, and Talbaria, and Kalia upazila’s Chachuri, Ichamati, Bendar Char, Hamidpur, Kulshur, Chadarchar, and Kolabaria, residents routinely collect snails from beels and wetlands using small boats and palm-log rafts.

After collection, the snails are processed locally, where the flesh is removed and sold to traders at about Tk 25 per kilogram.

Ramla Bala, a resident of Brammondanga village in Lohagara upazila, said, “Like many others in my village, I go to Ichamati beel early in the morning with a palm-log raft to gather snails. By midday, I return home and separate the meat from the shells. Traders buy the meat for Tk 25 per kilogram. I usually earn Tk 350 to Tk 450 daily, which supports my family.”

Similarly, Khushi Rani Malo from Chachuri village in Kalia upazila explained, “I head to the beel before dawn on my raft and return around noon with snails and clams. After cleaning them, I sell them to traders. We also sell the shells to other buyers, who reportedly burn them to produce lime. From selling both the meat and shells, I earn around Tk 300-400 per day.”

Environmentalists warn that unchecked harvesting is threatening local biodiversity.

Prof. Barun Majumder, former acting principal of Narail Government Victoria College and head of its biology department, stated, “Snails and clams feed on floating aquatic plants in freshwater bodies. They play a vital role in forming sandy beds, maintaining ecological balance, and their shells help retain soil moisture during dry periods. Harvesting these creatures must be halted immediately.”

Md Badrul Alam, the district fisheries officer, said, “The Department of Environment has banned snail and clam collection to protect wetland biodiversity. However, some shrimp farmers and traders continue the practice. We are working to discourage the use of snails in shrimp farming.