The Shrinking Sea


  • Photographer
    Sergey Ponomarev
  • Prize
    Honorable Mention
  • Company/Studios
    The Associated Press
  • Date of Photograph
    May 2009

Kazakhstan Aral Sea. Once one of world's largest inland bodies of water, the Aral Sea is now a pale shadow of its former self. Decades of destructive Soviet irrigation projects caused the sea to contract by almost seven-tenths _ stranding Kazakhstan's former port town of Aralsk a long and arduous drive from the nearest shore. The last remaining clues of Aralsk's vibrant fishing past is the handful of rusting boats arranged forlornly into an open-air memorial by city authorities. The Aral's shrinkage transformed the surrounding region into a searing dustbowl and sharply increased the sea salinity rate, devastating fisheries and decimating one of the few sources of steady employment. With the sea's steady retreat, dozens of barges and fishing boats that no longer served any purpose were left marooned in the scrub, forming a grim and surreal ship's graveyard. Over the years, many of those ships have been broken up and carted away for scrap metal, removing some of the few hints the sea ever existed.

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