Threatened by continuing erosion, Shell Beach in Region One (Barima-Waini) has been temporarily closed to tourists by the Protected Areas Commission (PAC), Project Advisor for the Sea Turtle Conservation Project Suresh Kandaswamy has said.
The approximately 90-mile stretch of beach famous for sea turtle activity, sits on the Atlantic border with Venezuela. The erosion has caused residents of nearby Almond Beach to evacuate to higher grounds.
Yesterday Kandaswamy explained to Stabroek News, “The beach erosion has pretty much reached the guest house, main campus [and] ranger’s house. So because of that and flooding from high tides, the PAC decided to close it to tourism. We want to ensure everyone is safe.”
At present, the project advisor said, they have moved their operations to the western side of the beach which is not affected by the erosion. They are also engaged in talks with the government to have the buildings moved to the western side of the beach. However, such a move would depend on them securing funding, though an area has already been identified some two kilometres away from the current conservation site to house the buildings.
He said it was possible that the beach could remain closed for the rest of the season. However, he noted that the closure will not take a toll on tourism activities in the region, as “Shell Beach is not a high-volume tourist destination… because it is expensive to get there. But when people call we have to let them know it is closed.”
He said it was disappointing to inform those tourists who did want to visit that the site was closed, since Shell Beach was part of the sea turtle conservation awareness campaign.
Currently, he said, they are building temporary shelters on the western side for rangers to continue conversation work. “It is turtle season right now, from March to July, [and] because of these problems… We are setting up camp and working from there,” he added.
Kandaswamy noted that as conservation work continues, rangers are always on the lookout for turtles nesting in unfit areas so as to have them relocated. “We have to make sure we relocate the eggs in time from areas that are not suitable for nesting. Our rangers have to relocate the nests to safer grounds so the work can continue,” he explained.
Because of the erosion, approximately 3.5 kilometres of the 8 kilometres stretch of Almond beach now remains.
In January, Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman said the Almond Beach community had been subjected to flash floods as the tide changed and efforts were being made to relocate some 20 residents.
