Seaweed a pest in the north

The thickening mass of sargassum seaweed in the River Bay, St Lucy area is becoming a problem for nearby residents who say it has resulted in a dramatic increase in mosquitoes and flies.

Residents have indicated that the sharp unpleasant scent from the rotting weed, which has covered the beach, was not their main concern. In fact, one man told Barbados TODAY he was now “used to the smell” but was eager to have it removed because of the insects.

“I have been here for the last couple years. The only thing I don’t like about it is the flies. It has a lot of flies in it and mosquitoes too,” he said.

Acknowledging that the area was being cleaned, the man who did not want to be identified said as soon as the majority of the seaweed was cleared, more would wash up “in no time” and the cycle continued.

“If it get too overbearing for me, I would want to leave down here. The mosquitoes and the flies got you good man,” he complained.

Another resident expressed concern that he was unable to go to the beach because of the seaweed, adding that he was also bothered by the dramatic increase in insects.

Declaring that the stench was almost unbearable some days, he said: “It smells really bad. Usually I would go there and have a nice sea bath but now I can’t do that. I would love to do that there again.”

The popular River Bay location, where the sea creates a shallow bathing area, has been transformed into a stagnant pool of water, most of which is covered with the dense sargassum seaweed.

A pile of the seaweed has been placed on the adjacent concrete area waiting to be removed.

Acting General Manager of the National Conservation Commission (NCC) Ryan Als told Barbados TODAY he was aware of the situation in the area, but asked that residents give officials more time to get the situation under control.

Declaring that River Bay was “a special case” because of the rocks, he explained that the NCC did not have the equipment to clear the rotting sargassum as often as he would like.

However, he said that agency was working closely with the Soil Conservation Unit and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to ensure the menacing seaweed was cleared as regularly as possible.

“The NCC doesn’t have the equipment to clean it. We can transport it away but right now we rely on the Soil Conservation Unit. They have the large excavators and front loaders that can bring the sargassum from the beach and put it on the hard surface and then we have the trucks to move it,” Als explained.

“We have to wait until the equipment from the Soil Conservation Unit is available because they also have land reclamation and stabilization work to do in the Scotland District as well as work on agricultural land. The corporation does give some relief but not fast enough, because you would appreciate that Soil Conservation cannot put the tractor there every two weeks. So, it will take a little while to get back there,” he added. (MM)