Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Area
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| Swatch of No Ground Marine Protected Area সোয়াচ অফ নো গ্রাউন্ড মেরিন সংরক্ষিত এলাকা | |
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  Location of Swatch of No Ground in Bangladesh | |
| Location | Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh |
| Nearest city | Bagerhat |
| Coordinates | 21°15′00″N 89°28′00″E / 21.2500°N 89.4667°E |
| Area | 1738 sq km |
| Established | 2014 |
| Governing body | Forest Department, Government of Bangladesh |
Swatch of No Ground (SoNG) Marine Protected Area is a protected area of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal listed as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA).[1] The reserve covers an area of 1,636 km2 (632 sq mi).[2]
It was established on 26 October 2014, making it the first marine protected area (MPA) in the country. The area hosts important habitats for several endangered creatures such as various species of dolphins and whales.[3]
The Swatch of No Ground (SoNG) is a 14 km wide trench in the Bay of Bengal. It is located 30 km from Dublar Char Islands, located in the Sundarbans. This deepest trench has a record size of about 1340 meters (400–450 m deeper than the surrounding mean seafloor depth of 1000 m).[4] It has an average depth of about 1,200 meters underwater. This underwater trench is a part of the Bengal Fan, the largest underwater fan in the world.[5][6] The fan in the Bay of Bengal, south of the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta, is also known as Ganga Fan.