<P> One of the first trading ventures along the Bay of Bengal was The Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies more commonly referred to as the British East India Company . Gopalpur - on - Sea was one of their main trading centers . Other trading companies along the Bay of Bengal shorelines were the English East India Company and the French East India Company . </P> <P> BIMSTEC Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) supports free trade internationally around the Bay of Bengal between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand . </P> <P> The Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project is a new venture proposed which would create a channel for a shipping route to link the Gulf of Mannar with the Bay of Bengal . This would connect India from east to west without the necessity of going around Sri Lanka . </P> <P> Thoni and catamaran fishing boats of fishing villages thrive along the Bay of Bengal shorelines . Fishermen can catch between 26 and 44 species of marine fish . In one year, the average catch is two million tons of fish from the Bay of Bengal alone . Approximately 31% of the world's coastal fishermen live and work on the bay . </P>

Where is the bay of bengal located on the map above