Govt explores Bridgetown harbour relocation amid storm damage, capacity concerns

The government is assessing plans to relocate the Bridgetown Fisheries Harbour after storm damage and longstanding congestion exposed structural limits at the current site, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has said.

Mottley made the disclosure on Thursday during the official commissioning of Berth 6 at the Port of Bridgetown, where she outlined challenges facing the existing harbour and the long-term plans being considered.

Mottley said the impact of Hurricane Beryl highlighted vulnerabilities at the already congested harbour, which sustained significant damage during the storm.

“We learned that with Hurricane Beryl when our fishing harbour, which was already congested, became the victim of significant damage,” she said, noting that while repairs have largely been completed, expansion at the current site is not feasible.

According to the prime minister, the steep underwater drop-off near the existing harbour would make any expansion project “completely prohibitive in costs”.

As a result, the government has begun examining options for relocating the facility and developing a new fish market.

“The government has been quietly working and will continue to work on the environmental considerations for the relocation of the Bridgetown fishing harbour and the reclamation of additional lands to be able to facilitate that and a new Bridgetown fish market,” Mottley said.

She explained that studies and modelling are expected to be completed before the end of the year to determine whether a new harbour could be constructed north of the Barbados Coast Guard station.

The proposed development, she added, could serve multiple purposes.

“We are looking to see whether we are in a position north of the Coast Guard station not only to build out the spine for an aggregate facility, but to use that same spine to anchor a new fishing harbour and equally at a size that can also accommodate not just fishing boats but potentially some pleasure craft.”

Mottley acknowledged that Barbados’ geography presents unique challenges for harbour development, noting that unlike many Caribbean territories, the island lacks natural inlets and bays.

“Part of the difficulty that we have is that Barbados does not have the types of inlets and bays that other Caribbean countries have,” she said. “In having a straight-line coast, it means that we are constrained by where we can find shelter for our vessels in the water.”

While warning that the undertaking would be costly, Mottley stressed that maintaining and expanding the fishing industry remains essential to Barbados’ economy and social fabric.

“Can you imagine Barbados without a fishing industry? Can you imagine Barbados without fishermen?” she asked.

She pointed to the industry’s export potential, highlighting that Barbados already maintains a “healthy export sector” with tuna regularly shipped to North America by long-line fishers.

(SB)