By Admin. Updated 8:35 a.m., Friday, July 5, 2024, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).
For years, the government and locals have been trying to stymie coastal erosion at Salt Whistle Bay in Mayreau by preventing the Atlantic Ocean coast of the beach from converging on the Caribbean Sea coast.
But in just a few hours, Salt Whistle Bay Beach, considered one of the best beaches in the Caribbean, was destroyed by Hurricane Beryl bringing to life the worst nightmare of conservationists and beach lovers.
Beryl swept through St. Vincent and the Grenadines as a Category 4 hurricane on July 1, and it took a large chunk of the stretch of land at Salt Whistle Bay that separates the beach’s Atlantic coastline from its Caribbean Sea coastline.
Salt Whistle Bay was already facing violent erosion on the Atlantic side of the bay.
In a 2020 article, One News SVG reported that the waters of the Atlantic almost converged with the waters of the Caribbean Sea part of the bay as the thin stretch of land separating both almost split in two due to coastal erosion.
The development which had been taking place for years, toppling large coconut trees and washing away vegetation, had been met with numerous attempts to stymie the erosion.
The situation had gotten so drastic that locals were using conch shells to backfill the Atlantic side of the bay.
The government, however, cautioned against the stockpiling of conch shells, saying it could make the issue worse.
The government’s intervention on that occasion was characterized by the use of large boulders to create a sea defense and replanting coconut trees.
One News SVG 