Enterprise vendors fear worsening sargassum will threaten livelihoods

Mounting loads of sargassum seaweed are making the popular Enterprise, Christ Church beach — popularly known as “Miami Beach” — less attractive to visitors and threatening livelihoods, particularly during the slow summer months, when area businesses rely heavily on local patrons, vendors have told Barbados TODAY.

They issued an appeal to the government to remove the sargassum washing onto the beach and find productive ways to use it, while introducing more activities to attract visitors all year.

One vendor, who has lived in the area all his life, said the situation has steadily worsened over the years: “That’s a big issue though, something has to be done about it, because I ain’t accustom to this and I am 42 years old, and we came up around the area our whole life and never see this much seamoss. I get to understand it ain’t come from around here, it breaking off and coming here. I don’t know what we’re going to do but something needs to be done about it because it will kill the businesses.”

While acknowledging that the government has a programme to clear the beaches, he said removing the sargassum is challenging:

Seaweed gathered in piles by the waves also brown with more seaweed as local sat and looked on. (Photo Credit: Lourianne Graham)

“Yes they do, but sometimes it’s best to just leave it because it floats away too, because realistically it’s very hard.”

But he warned that the problem was becoming worse every year and could eventually discourage visitors from returning during the summer months:

“They’re gonna stop coming around this sort of time, so what’s going to happen you’re gonna start losing more money. ‘Cause we now get an influx of tourists because of the hurricane in Jamaica, so if the people ain’t got no place they can bathe, sit down and enjoy themselves, we’re gonna lose it but during the hurricane season, it dread all the time.”

Residents were largely responsible for keeping many beach businesses afloat during the off-season, the vendor said.

“That’s the only way the business stand open, if not for the locals. If it wasn’t for the locals, here would be shut. I don’t tell you that tourists don’t come and spend, but right now too because of the hurricane season is mostly all locals because the tourist ain’t going to really be at the beach, as you see how the beach is already. We is got to really respect the locals.”

Despite the slow period, closing his business was not an option:

“Seven days a week, I can’t shut, if I shut I can’t pay the bills. So how I does look at it, even if is a $100 or $200 a day, it’s something, better than nothing.”

The vendor also questioned why beach chairs were removed during the off-season, arguing that visitors come here throughout the year and should have access to the same amenities:

“That’s why I don’t understand the beach chairs people, they are promoting tourism, so if they promoting tourism and tourist season in their eyesight is from November but they know that they deal with tourism and tourist gonna be here all through the year, even if its slight, that not being serious.

“I don’t want to say it but I think they need different people, a rotation. 

“At the end of the day, how I look at it from a business perspective, if I have chairs round the season, my workers will come and deal with the chairs, but they’re not doing that. So when a man want to come and sit down now, six months from April, a man want to sit down five or six months, business actually dead in the sea, man. And Barbados does get good weather all through the year. I don’t see the reason for the chairs to be inside. That’s what really killing the beach, people saying the people should at least open the chairs.”

He also suggested more could be done to make Enterprise — or “Miami Beach” — a year-round attraction:

“Realistically, we gotta boost the tourism sector on a different vibration; you gotta bring things to captivate people. They ain’t got nothing going on now. This is the most tranquil beach in Barbados, when I mean tranquil, less harassment, less vibration. I don’t tell you that things don’t happen, things do happen cause of the world we live in, but this is more like a retirement home.

“I think that they need to do things to captivate the place, push more into the place. Down here could do real good, but it does be a lot of red tape because of the residents. There’s no noise pollution; you can’t play no radio, you can’t hold a little session, you can’t promote, and that’s harsh; that’s another impact we have out here.”

He recalled days in his youth when the beach was more active, “When I was growing up around here, we used to hold summer jams down here; we used to have activities like volleyball, football and right now everything is just tourism. One time they had real youngsters running up the beach playing football; you’d get volleyball, it’s not so no more; it just dead.”

Another beach worker said the lack of activities was affecting both the local culture and employment opportunities, noting that many workers only find employment during the traditional tourist season.

He also argued that instead of simply removing the seaweed, Barbados should be finding ways to turn it into an economic resource.

“Instead of sweeping off the seaweed into the sea, take it up into the land and do something with it. I see people do construction, a lot of things, men’s just mix that in certain feeds for the pig, men does make building bricks from that, and then too getting a loan to operate in that sort of direction does be hard for the small man but a bigger company gonna come a do it and you gotta sit down and wait and then it result in we paying them instead of we getting something. You just taking something of value from the beaches.”

(LG)