It’s bad. That was the reaction from lifelong resident of River Bay, St Lucy, Evrol Foster, as the stench of rotting Sargassum seaweed hung thick in the air yesterday.
It was less than a month ago that workers from the National Conservation Commission (NCC) brought out heavy duty equipment from the Soil Conservation Unit and Sustainable Barbados Recycling Centre to deal with the mass of rotting seaweed at the once popular picnic spot.
While the tyre treads from the tractors can still be seen, the bay is once again clogged by the pelagic annual seaweed, which has also brought countless pieces of plastic marine debris ashore.
“It’s bad but we can’t do no better,” Foster told the Sunday Sun yesterday, as she credited the NCC workers with cleaning the bay.
“I hear them often, especially three or four big trucks clearing it but they can’t get rid of it,” she said.
Foster believes this year’s was the worst influx since the Sargassum seaweed invasion began more than four years ago.
“This here like it is the worst because one time it wasn’t really so bad, but this here like it is the worst. I tell my children that this come in from out in the ocean and it’s not like we going to get rid of it,” the pensioner said.
However, the River Bay resident said while the rotting seaweed left an awful stench, she could not keep her windows closed.
“You can’t keep the windows shut down all the time. It smells but you can’t keep the windows shut so all the time.”
Meanwhile, a woman, who was at the picnic spot, said Saturday’s smell could not be compared to that of last month’s.
“This doesn’t smell. It did smell worse than how it smells now. To me, the smell like it dying down. I came about a month ago and it smelled terrible but now I say, let me come and see, and it ain’t smell as bad as when I first came,” she said.
Last month, NCC general manager Keith Neblett said the commission had been tackling the seaweed at various beaches. (HLE)
