Barbadian Beaches Litter With Broken Coral

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       Unusually large waves churned by a Caribbean storm system have littered the beaches of Barbados with chunks of broken coral in what could be a sign of damage to reefs across the region, a local scientist has said.

 Leo Brewster, director of Barbados’ Coastal Zone Management Unit, who was organising dives later this week to survey the damage, said that the amount of rubble on the island’s west coast suggests the coral took a heavy pounding.

“We think it’s going to be pretty extensive,” Brewster said. “I think we’re going to see it across the Caribbean.”

In Barbados, the white coral pieces washed up in chunks as heavy as 3.2kg, generally healthy but with their polyps rubbed away by the rough surf, Brewster said.

Waves as high as an estimated 9m, lashed coastlines from Guyana to Dominican Republic last week. This was a result of a large low-pressure system idle off the northeastern United States.

{Taken from International Press Reports}

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Filed under Barbados, Environment, Tourism

Tags: Barbados, Environment, Tourism