The divers rescuing a drowning island
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Vaan Island in India’s Gulf of Mannar has been rapidly disappearing into the Laccadive Sea. But a team of marine biologists is working to save it
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Hundreds of fishing boats bob on the bright blue waters surrounding Vaan Island, a tiny strip of land between India and Sri Lanka. The island marks the beginning of a fiercely protected fragile zone, the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve. These waters are home to India’s most varied and biodiverse coastlines. Teeming with marine life, it is home to 23% of India’s 2,200 fin fish species, 106 species of crab and more than 400 species of molluscs, as well as the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the finless porpoise and the humpback whale.
Nearly 150,000 fishermen depend on the marine reserve for their livelihoods. And Vaan Island is the gateway to this world. Half an hour by boat from the mainland and easily accessible to the 47 villages that are the backbone of this heavily populated coastline, Vaan has always been a refuge from storms for fishermen and a hotspot for researchers. But for the past 50 years it has been rapidly shrinking.
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Ut eget pulvinar orci, in tempus mi. Praesent commodo augue massa. Aenean sed pretium urna, non ultricies nisi. Nulla posuere fringilla lacus eget malesuada. Aenean sit amet consectetur sem. Suspendisse accumsan, nisi quis ornare ultrices, risus elit sagittis nisl, vitae tristique libero urna vitae mauris.
Vaan has always been a refuge from storms for fishermen and a hotspot for researchers
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vitae sagittis metus. Sed eu eleifend leo, in tincidunt felis. Suspendisse bibendum magna non tortor ultrices bibendum. Mauris vitae dui nec sem dignissim vestibulum id id neque. Nullam a suscipit purus. Integer quis ipsum nulla. Vivamus nec eros turpis.
Ut eget pulvinar orci, in tempus mi. Praesent commodo augue massa. Aenean sed pretium urna, non ultricies nisi. Nulla posuere fringilla lacus eget malesuada. Aenean sit amet consectetur sem. Suspendisse accumsan, nisi quis ornare ultrices, risus elit sagittis nisl, vitae tristique libero urna vitae mauris.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vitae sagittis metus. Sed eu eleifend leo, in tincidunt felis. Suspendisse bibendum magna non tortor ultrices bibendum. Mauris vitae dui nec sem dignissim vestibulum id id neque. Nullam a suscipit purus. Integer quis ipsum nulla. Vivamus nec eros turpis.
Ut eget pulvinar orci, in tempus mi. Praesent commodo augue massa. Aenean sed pretium urna, non ultricies nisi. Nulla posuere fringilla lacus eget malesuada. Aenean sit amet consectetur sem. Suspendisse accumsan, nisi quis ornare ultrices, risus elit sagittis nisl, vitae tristique libero urna vitae mauris.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vitae sagittis metus. Sed eu eleifend leo, in tincidunt felis. Suspendisse bibendum magna non tortor ultrices bibendum. Mauris vitae dui nec sem dignissim vestibulum id id neque. Nullam a suscipit purus. Integer quis ipsum nulla. Vivamus nec eros turpis.
Ut eget pulvinar orci, in tempus mi. Praesent commodo augue massa. Aenean sed pretium urna, non ultricies nisi. Nulla posuere fringilla lacus eget malesuada. Aenean sit amet consectetur sem. Suspendisse accumsan, nisi quis ornare ultrices, risus elit sagittis nisl, vitae tristique libero urna vitae mauris.
Ut eget pulvinar orci, in tempus mi. Praesent commodo augue massa. Aenean sed pretium urna, non ultricies nisi. Nulla posuere fringilla lacus eget malesuada. Aenean sit amet consectetur sem. Suspendisse accumsan, nisi quis ornare ultrices, risus elit sagittis nisl, vitae tristique libero urna vitae mauris.