SEA concerned about dredging operations at Little Bugle Caye

Fragments of Hope was first to sound the alarm that dredging was taking place off the coast of Placencia. Today the Southern Environmental Association issued a release expressing concern over dredging activities taking place to fill a development on Little Bugle Caye. The release points out that the approval for dredging was granted without the benefit of public consultations or an Environmental Impact Assessment. S.E.A. notes that thirteen offshore Cayes have undergone some form of dredging, removal of mangroves, building of seawalls or construction of groynes or piers and attracted about nine hundred licensed fishers, heightening pressures on the delicate marine ecosystem. The organization also states that maintaining the integrity of the marine environment is key to the livelihood of coastal communities. The organization is calling on the government to suspend dredging and other development within South Central Region until a comprehensive mitigation plan for potential environmental and social impacts are conducted. Second, it wants consultations to be held with partners and stakeholders.