Tent Bay fishers say they have been left high and dry after losing their tiny working beach to uncoordinated development works, with no replacement slipway, no clear line of responsibility – and no answers from officials.
Spokesman Moonesh Dharampaul, president of the Black Fin Fleet Co-operative Society, said recent construction work has effectively destroyed the beach previously used by fishers to haul up and secure their vessels, leaving them without alternatives or a functional slipway.
Dharampaul raised urgent concerns regarding the ongoing paralysis surrounding the site. He highlighted a distinct lack of direct communication from the relevant state departments and private developers involved in the initiative.
“Our concerns at Tent Bay [are] that we have lost the beach due to development,” he told Barbados TODAY.
“We understand that they are working with the Coastal Zone Management Unit along with the construction company that did the development to ensure that the fishermen there can have a haul-up or slipway so that they can get their boats, but we are not getting the level of engagement from these entities, and we want to know what is happening with Tent Bay.”
Efforts to clarify which agency holds ultimate responsibility for the site have been met with conflicting information, Dharampaul said. Initial enquiries suggested the initiative fell under the purview of the Ministry of Transport and Works, while later reports indicated that coastal management officials had not granted proper authorisation.
“It may be a case that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. But at the end of the day, the fisherfolk at Tent Bay have lost the beach.”
Dharampaul highlighted that, while the fisherfolk were initially promised an integrated slipway as part of the overall area upgrades, months have passed with no progress or consultation. Over six months have elapsed since an initial online meeting between contractors and residents, leaving the community without updates or interim accommodations for the contractors to ply their trade.
Beyond the immediate financial blow to commercial operators, the loss of the shoreline carries broader consequences for the coastal village.
“Nothing is provided; we are still awaiting the so-called development that is supposed to be coming for Tent Bay,” Dharampaul said. “When we lose the beach… it breaks up the village life of learning to fish. You cannot get younger people involved and stuff like that. It is a real challenge.”
The Black Fin co-op leader made a public appeal for fisheries minister Santia Bradshaw to intervene and enforce accountability among the contractors and agencies involved.
Dharampaul said: “I am sure that if the minister knows about exactly what is happening; she is a no-nonsense person, so if she understands that they are not working with us, we want her to come and at least intervene and get those persons to live up to their end of the bargain. They said they are going to develop the area to give us a slipway. Let them come and do what they have to do. What is the hold-up?”
The community’s plight has also drawn support from a former fisheries expert and marine researcher.
Dharampaul said renowned marine biologist Emeritus Professor Robin Mahon of the UWI Centre for Resource Management and Environmental Studies (CERMES) is documenting Tent Bay’s transformation and the loss of its scenic coastline to raise public awareness.
“It is a real nice scenic place, very picturesque, but we lost the beach, and we now have to deal with that,” said Dharampaul.
(RR)
