History & Background
Known locally as Narikel Jinjira ("Coconut Island"), the island was reportedly settled around 250 years ago by Arab traders and later named after a Christian saint by British cartographers. Its coral reefs, formed on a submerged extension of the Teknaf peninsula, make it geologically unique in Bangladesh. The island depends heavily on fishing and, increasingly, tourism, and conservationists have raised concerns about coral degradation and unregulated construction as visitor numbers have grown sharply since the 2000s.