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It's 7 a.m. and Sandra Rodríguez and her teenage daughter are standing in their wooden boat pulling in the last of 15 fishing nets laid out in these shallow protected wetlands just south of the small fishing village of San Miguelito.

It's the season for catching guapote and gaspar. The latter is traditionally eaten during Holy Week, so it fetches a high price this time of year.

"If they don't harm the wetlands and the environment, I think it's good," Sandra said when asked her opinion of the $50 billion Nicaraguan canal that the government says will pass through here. San Miguelito is one of 12 municipalities that lies within the area of direct influence of the project, though even here many of the details remain shrouded in mystery. "The problem is a lot of people haven't been told what will happen."

Lake Nicaragua, or Lake Cocibolca, is the second largest lake in Latin America. Locals have nicknamed it mar dulce, or "sweet sea," as the freshwater lake is so large it stretches to the horizon. Besides supplying a source of income for fishing communities like San Miguelito, the lake is an important reservoir for drinking water and irrigation — one that scientists caution will grow in importance as climate change intensifies and threatens global water supplies.

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