I was sitting on a boat enjoying the allure of Kerala’s monsoon, which I had previously only known through films and reels. As the romance of the land touched me, I reminded myself that my journey here was not just to experience beauty, but to understand it. I had joined the 18th edition of the Vembanad Fish Count to assess the health of Vembanad Lake and the livelihoods it supports. I thought about how the fish I had come to see and count did not care about my presence, nor did they know that their home is one of India’s largest and most biodiverse Ramsar sites.