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Sawfishes are highly threatened globally, and current data on their conservation status in the Indian Ocean are limited. A baseline study conducted in 2011–2012 revealed that at least two species of sawfish were still present in Bangladeshi waters and highlighted several important steps that could be taken to prevent populations from further decline.Regular visits to landing sites in the south‐eastern coastal region of Bangladesh were conducted to collect data on sawfish landings. A telephone reporting system was developed amongst shark traders and fishers, to facilitate immediate reporting of sawfish landings.Between 15 October 2016 and 26 December 2017, landings of 25 sawfishes were documented, of which at least 17 were largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis. No evidence of narrow sawfish Anoxypristis cuspidata was observed, which may suggest that this species has become rare.These data were collected 5 years after the baseline study was conducted and after several years of broader efforts to highlight the precarious status of sawfish populations globally. The findings illustrate that largetooth sawfish continue to be landed and that none of the management or community engagement activities previously recommended, in order to reduce catch rates, have been implemented.This is an example of the research–practitioner divide, where published scientific research on a group of highly endangered elasmobranchs has not led to their protection. A strategy for communicating the findings of this study and the critical need for local conservation action for sawfishes to key national and local stakeholders is presented, alongside a suite of actions that can be feasibly implemented in the next 12 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water hyacinth (WH) is considered as the worst aquatic weed in the world because of its rapid growth and fast spread into new areas of fresh water bodies. We investigated the potentiality of using WH as a raw material for production of handmade paper and compost in Bangladesh. Potash pulping was done using potassium hydroxide (KOH) at different alkali concentrations (8–12%) with a liquor to solid ratio of 7:1 at 145 °C for 2 h. The pulp was bleached using hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2), and pulp properties (brightness, tear index and tensile index) of bleached and unbleached pulps were analyzed following the respective TAPPI standards. The produced black liquor was mixed with WH along with kitchen bio-wastes to produce compost. The properties of the compost were tested following the published protocols, i.e., wet digestion, Kjeldahl, vanadomolybdophosphoric acid, and Flame Spectrophotometry methods. Brightness, tensile index and tear index of bleached hand sheets were found to be 37.2%, 49.2 N m/g and 6.79 m.Nm2/g, respectively suggesting significant contribution of bleaching on WH paper quality. Addition of black liquor significantly increased the nitrogen and potassium content of bio-waste compost. Thus, WH can be used as a raw material for making handmade paper while the process by-product can be supplemented to improve the nutritional quality of compost. Such cottage-industry fabrication of WH green products could be developed to control the infestation of WH in water bodies, and this technology may provide for new possible sustainable livelihood option. [Display omitted] • Handmade paper was produced from water hyacinth (WH) using the KOH pulping method. • The waste potassium-rich black liquor was used to produce compost mainly from WH. • H 2 O 2 -bleached WH pulp showed better strength properties. • The produced compost was rich in macronutrients, i.e., N and K essential for plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]