Fishermen tackle clam theft and pollution

ALAPPUZHA, INDIA - Flocks of storks and cormorants perched on bamboo stilts peer into the blue-black depths of Vembanad Lake in India's southwest Kerala state, searching hungrily for food.

"Around 200 fish pairs are breeding here, which is why predator birds are hanging around," said K. V. Dineshan, steering his canoe toward the tennis court-sized fish sanctuary, a fertile oasis in the degraded lake located in a protected wetland.

A barrage built by the state government divides the lake's 36,000 hectares in two: the northern part has brackish water all year round, while the southern half is fed with fresh water from rivers and seawater is shut out from December to April, allowing rice to be grown.