Nahla Khan
Who I am
Having been born and raised in Dhaka, an overpopulated megacity, I have always felt the lack of nature exploration in my life, although my love for nature was kindled when my tiny hands learned to grasp the tiny blades of grass in the urban dust. This lost connection with nature was regained during my undergraduate studies in zoology at the University of Dhaka. Initially I worked with threatened species, mostly birds, and studied how protected areas can help in their conservation. While doing so, I started working on another project that focused on assessments of the protected areas in South Asia. It was then that I discovered how crucial marine protected areas are for marine ecosystems and the vulnerability of marine megafauna in them. During the same year I visited the Bay of Bengal for the first time. Exposure to that vast sea shifted my research focus towards marine ecosystems and marine species in the third year of my undergraduate course. Encountering sharks and rays for the first time at the Cox’s Bazar Fishery Centre sparked a lasting fascination for these incredible elasmobranchs. I made a significant move and transitioned to proactively working on the conservation of sharks and rays, particularly their populations, habitat use and the threats they face from climate change and overfishing. Since then elasmobranchs, particularly guitarfish, have become the focal point of my research. Now that I am pursuing my postgraduate degree in zoology and working at a marine conservation lab, I am wholeheartedly unveiling the mysteries of this charismatic group in the Bay of Bengal. As a biologist, I aspire to use these ecological and biological findings to promote marine conservation in our waters.
Where I work
I work primarily in the south-east and central-south regions of Bangladesh, where guitarfish are frequently caught by fishers and traded for their fins and meat. Bangladesh is blessed with a unique geographical position and a coastal zone where the Bay of Bengal, one of the marine hotspots of the Indian Ocean, gently laps. These azure waters are home to hundreds of elasmobranch species, making it one of the significant contributors to the world’s shark and ray fisheries. One of the species groups found in these waters is the rhino rays. Among them, guitarfish are some of the more fascinating, as they resemble sharks and also have guitar-like bodies.
My work involves being in the field and subsequently in the lab. The lab I work in is located in Dhaka, where all the biological processing and the analysis of collected data take place. Lab work is important for generating the detailed results that we seek from our work in the field. Our lab is quite new and has limited capacity, so my team and I often collaborate with other researchers and their labs. Through this collaboration and the combination of evidence-based work I, along with my team, also work to raise awareness among fishers and promote community-led conservation practices. We believe that balancing conservation efforts with a proper understanding of the species and community support is the key to ensuring a sustainable future for the marine environment, its inhabitants and the people who rely on it.
What I do
Currently, I am pursuing my MSc in zoology, with a focus on fisheries, at the University of Dhaka, where I also completed my undergraduate studies. My passion for marine conservation drives my work as a part-time research assistant at the Bengal Elasmo Lab. Here, I explore the population of elasmobranchs, their use of habitat, the effects of climate change and how fishers – the main stakeholders – interact with marine conservation actions. Driven by my passion, my ultimate goal is to contribute to long-term sustainable conservation efforts for marine megafauna.
As a female student and an early-career researcher in a developing country, it was challenging for me to study biology and work extensively in coastal areas. Now I balance my postgraduate work, which motivates me to study further, with my research projects. I aspire to continue my relentless efforts for marine conservation, reduce knowledge gaps regarding species biology, and create sustainable solutions to make a better world. Beyond this academic perspective, I aim to discover and enhance the connection between the ocean and the lab and expand it into a commitment to protecting vulnerable species in Bangladesh.