Developers say the reef at St. Vincent’s Indian Bay is dead. These photos say otherwise · Global Voices
Fish over seagrass bed at Indian Bay, St. Vincent. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
One of the most memorable parts of photographer <PERSON>’ childhood was swimming at Indian Bay, a narrow south coast beach, conveniently close to St. Vincent's capital, Kingstown, with clear, turquoise waters protected by offshore reefs. Through her photographic practice over the past six-plus years, she has continued to pay homage to the area, documenting the beach and its surrounding reef “in fine detail.” Her images convey a deep respect for, and intimacy with, the ocean, and its effect on the island's inhabitants and how they see themselves.
As she explains in one of her artist's statements, “Most people's experience with the sea occurs at eye level with the horizon and they are oblivious to what is happening below the surface. I am interested in the notion that ‘just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it isn’t there’.” It is a perspective that seems especially poignant now, as there is a pending proposal to excavate a large portion of the reef—approximately 17,500 square feet (1,626 square metres) spanning from the shoreline to as far as 150 feet (45.72 metres) out to sea—and replace it with an artificial reef and imported sand, despite the fact that the area forms part of the island's proposed South Coast Marine Conservation Area.
<PERSON> says the monitoring data indicates that the coral reefs in this area are abundant, healthy, and vital to sustainable local fisheries. She is convinced that “there is value in preserving […] life in this zone” and that “regeneration is VERY possible at Indian Bay.” In the first of series of Facebook posts to draw attention to the situation, she explained:
Without human interference, I have witnessed firsthand elkhorn coral regrowing in key spots throughout the bay. Imagine what is possible if we actually put some real intentional effort into it and no, an artificial reef is not the solution.
I'm all for development and seeing my country thrive, but there is a very thin line between progress and preservation. Some things are sacred and meant to be protected for future generations. 495
Reefs have the ability to regenerate. Even a dead reef serves a very important purpose in an ecosystem.
To prove her point, <PERSON> and a colleague went back into the water on July 4 to take more up-to-date photos and show that the reef has life in it yet:
The environmental assessment done by the developers claims that the reef at Indian Bay is dead. There isn't a single underwater image documenting this claim. Everything was shot from the sand. Sort of similar to how most people approach things here, never really delving into issues deeply enough to understand what's really going on, just viewing things at a surface level […] take a look at the images and let me know if this looks like a dead reef.
Seagrass bed very close to shore; it's an ideal habitat for sea turtles. Photo by <PERSON>, July 4, 2021, used with permission.
Nascent stage of an elkhorn coral taken on July 4, 2021 at a depth of -.3 metres and location coordinates of 13°08’12.8”N and 61°12'32.0″W. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Brain coral, July 4, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Marine creature peeping out from a brain coral, July 4, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Encrusting zoantid, July 4, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Cluster of white sea urchins, July 4, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Star coral, July 4, 2021. Photo by <PERSON>, used with permission.
Making the point that “to the naked eye, a reef could look like a dead brown rock [because] the human eye can only see a very specific range of colours underwater,” <PERSON> posted comparative raw and filtered photos to better illustrate “the spectrum of colours that truly exist.” She also advised commenters on her post that they could visit the country's Ministry of Planning and Development and request to see the documents from the developer of La Vue Hotel and Beach Club. 495