Bridgetown Fisheries Complex Faces Devastation After Hurricane Beryl: Assessing the Impact
July 1, 2024
Hurricane Beryl causes significant damage at Bridgetown Fisheries Complex, sinking boats and devastating livelihoods. Fishermen and boat owners face losses as storm surge wreaks havoc. Recovery efforts underway.
A devastating loss.
This is how Chairman of the Fisheries Advisory Committee Kemar Harris framed the current situation at the Bridgetown Fisheries Complex, after several fishing vessels were either destroyed completely or sustained serious damage during the passage of Hurricane Beryl during the early hours of Monday morning.
When Barbados TODAY visited the complex just before 12 p.m., several fishermen and fishing boat owners were inconsolable state as they watched their investments and livelihoods sink under the pressure of the storm surge waves.
Harris said: “This morning the fishing industry is at a great loss…. Fishermen, boat owners, fish vendors are in tears, are saddened as a lot of boats have been sunk [and been] destroyed. If you look you can see the debris and the rubble [and] we are watching boats still sinking.”
He said a full assessment will be conducted later.
“This is nature; there is nothing we can do right now. We pray that the surges will greatly subside [soon] that we can do the assessment, and we are going to work with the people. We are going to sit down with the fishermen and so forth, but we cannot do anything now at this time.”
Curtis Watson, who has been a fisherman for 31 years, said that the storm surge is still adversely affecting a number of boats moored in the facility, including his.
“The sea just come over the wall and mash up the boats. Right now my boat is there, the stem is damaged, and you can see the boats there coming ashore. There have three or four on the land already and it’s getting worse and worse every minute. We need some help down in here,” he said.
The Barbados Meteorological Services (BMS) advised this afternoon that a small craft and high surf warning remains in effect for above normal swell heights.
“Beryl has brought hazardous sea conditions across the marine area of Barbados overnight and into today. Due to the nature of this system, large open water swells will continue to be hazardous to vessels, with overtopping of waves onto property and roads in very close proximity to shorelines expected to continue today with a gradual decrease tonight,” it said.
The Met Office predicted that swells would be between 11 and 13 feet.
