It was a profitable venture in the the 1980s and 1990s. But shrimp farming, the livelihood of many in the Sunderbans, has hit a terrible low. MAUREEN NANDINI MITRA finds out why

Squatting on the slippery, clay-covered jetty, her thin cotton saree dripping wet, Meena Sahu, scoops water out of her bucket with a broken clam shell, transfers it to a white enamelled iron bowl and counts the fine, threadlike prawn seedlings that are now clearly visible.