FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE ENVIRONMENT-CLIMATE-MALDIVES, 2001-07-13 (photo)

A Maldivian fisherman displays part of his catch of tuna fish upon returning from a fishing expedition at the Maldives capital of Male on July, 12, 2001. The fishing industry is the primary income earner for the maritime Maldives, an island chain comprised of hundreds of small atolls surrounded by clear blue seas in which tuna fish abound. The sun-drenched strip of about 1,200 coral islands off the southern tip of India lies just a fraction above sea level, a splattering of green dots in a blue ocean highly vulnerable to any small change in climatic conditions. AL/RCS