Dhaka, June 10 -- On the secluded shores of St Martin's Island, Bangladesh's only coral island, a curious dichotomy is unfolding away from the prying eyes of the mainland.

Tourists have vanished due to restrictions imposed by the environment ministry, while fishermen remain grounded under a fishing ban enforced by the Department of Fisheries and Livestock.

Caught between these two bans, the residents of St Martin's are grappling with "extreme hardship". Among the island's 10,000 residents, around 70 percent have become dependent on tourism over the past two and a half decades. The rest -- some 1,600 families -- rely solely on the sea for their livelihood.

Deprived of their lifeblood, the islanders are facing hard times, but nature on t...