More and more some of Anguilla’s best beaches are being littered with seaweed, polluting the environment and distracting residents as well as visitors from our alluring and assure waters.
The Anguillian is receiving a number of calls, particularly from visitors, asking what is being done to remedy the situation – and some ugly scenes have begun appearing on Facebook. Of course, as is generally known, Anguilla is one of many (if not all) of the Caribbean destinations being confronted by the seaweed problem.
“Everyday our beaches are being littered by this offensive and unsightly seaweed, preventing us from enjoying the sea,” one person complained. “Our family had to return home from Sandy Hill Beach where we like to hang out because it is not crowded by large numbers of swimmers – not that we are discriminating but sometimes you want to be basically alone. Know what we mean? Lo, and behold, the beach was (and is) crowded with seaweed and more was (and is) drifting into the inshore waters. What is being done about this dire situation which appears to be getting worse?”
Contact was made by this newspaper with the Ministry of Home Affairs for an update on Government’s plans to embark on a planned clean-up campaign of various beaches on the island.
The information to date is that a major meeting was held on Wednesday, September 23, at which an action plan was discussed. The meeting involved representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs including the Minister, Mrs. Cora Richardson-Hodge, Permanent Secretary, Ms. Aurjul Wilson, and Principal Assistant Secretary, Mr. Kenneth Hodge; representatives from the Ministry of Infrastructure; various departments including the Environment, Fisheries and Marine Resources, Agriculture and Disaster Management. Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, was also at the meeting – one reason being the need to discuss funding for cleaning the beaches.
It is understood that it was agreed that a memorandum should be urgently prepared for submission to the Executive Council.
When the plan was first announced, it involved the use of backhoes and trucks to remove the seaweed from the beaches; to deposit it at a suitable area to be stored and treated; and eventually sold to farmers for mulching purposes. As far as is known, those arrangements are likely to be the core of the action plan. It is probably now a matter of finding out the volume of seaweed to be removed, the costs involved and the hiring of workers and equipment to undertake the task.
