Devastation and Blame: Understanding the Impact of Hurricane Beryl on Barbados's Coastal Areas and Fishing Sector

A caller to a radio call-in programme recently described the robust discussion surrounding Hurricane Beryl’s impact on Barbados as “storm politics”.

There is an intense blame game that has erupted following the passage of the severe weather system. While most of the country’s inland infrastructure was spared the harshness of Beryl’s might, the coastal damage was immense.

A significant amount of the south coast’s sandy beaches was eroded or pushed so far inland, some properties and coastal areas were unrecognisable in the aftermath.

The Category 4 hurricane went on to devastate islands of St Vincent and the Grenadines with winds of 140 miles an hour, while there were three deaths in Grenada and its sister isles of Carriacou and Petite Martinique.

For us in Barbados, the devastation was most evident in our fishing sector where it was reported that more than 40 boats were either damaged or destroyed.

The emotions of Barbadians were triggered as they watched fishermen, boat owners and those closely connected to the industry shed tears in distress as they watched vessel after vessel sink to the bottom of the waters at the Fisheries Complex in Bridgetown.

Among those who suffered complete losses were owners who sailed their boats from the fishing community at Oistins to Bridgetown for what they believed was safe harbour.

The result has been a fishing sector that is now crippled by the loss of so many vessels that it will create a shortage of fresh fish.

Some fishermen assess that the wide-scale damage and destruction to such a large number of fishing vessels could mean at least a year before the sector returns to its normal level of activity.

Opposition Leader and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Christ Church South, Ralph Thorne, has not minced words. He has placed the blame squarely on the Mia Mottley-led administration.

As far as the Democratic Labour Party leader is concerned, the government allowed itself to be distracted by the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and did not make adequate provision for the Category 4 hurricane that was on our doorsteps.

Thorne, who is in a political fight to retain his seat and to revive the once decimated opposition party, has put the government on the defensive regarding its storm response.

Of course, Prime Minister Mottley is expected to robustly defend her administration’s actions. Already, the government has outlined plans for a financial injection for those fisherfolk who have suffered damage or loss, as well as the establishment of a revolving fund.

Storm politics is not new. As former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill argued, politicians should “never let a good crisis go to waste”.

Natural disasters can create headaches for political leaders. To this day, there are millions of Americans whose negative opinions of George Bush were shaped in part by his administration’s sloth response to Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 killer storm that hit the US in 2005.

What we in Barbados should also be concerned about is the ripple effect of the impact on the fishing industry. Often citizens fail to appreciate the circular economy that exists on the island.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Barbadians came face to face with how deeply interconnected the tourism sector is with other sectors.

When the bottom fell out of local tourism, the ripple effect was felt throughout the private and public sectors. When hotels had no guests, they did not require agricultural and meat products from those in agriculture. Taxi drivers lost their clients, and some were forced to return their vehicles to dealers as their income vanished for almost a year.

In the case of the fishing industry, the economic impact is also significant. If local fisherfolk are unable to supply the market’s needs, then precious foreign exchange will be needed to import fish.

One must also appreciate the fact that the highly popular Oistins Bay Garden, which is by far the most popular tourist attraction on the island, is highly dependent on a continuous supply of fish.

What will be the impact on that facility if fish supplies are inadequate? What will fish vendors in the various markets sell if there is no adequate supply of fresh fish?

There are employment, economic and social implications from the impact of Hurricane Beryl on the fishing industry for which a rapid response is required.