IRMA

Where the mangroves are still present and in good health, this essential vegetation played its role as the second line of defense against the storm surge from the hurricane, after the coral reefs, which were often already in bad shape.

In mitigating the energy of the sea, this littoral forest along the back of the beaches suffered enormously. The trees are broken, leafless, buried and burned by the sand carried by the waves, and covered with debris left by the water as it retreated or carried on the wind.

The good news is that these dynamic areas are used to stress — caused by the wind, the waves, or by man — and the mangroves will recover in time, given proper care and promotion of its reconstitution.

The first task consists in evacuating debris of all sizes.

This colossal job will take a long time, as a large amount of debris of all kinds must be removed.

One positive thing is that the mangrove seeds can float and will repopulate the damaged areas.

Adapted to difficult and unstable situations, the mangrove has luckily developed mechanisms for resistance, such as reinforced roots, the capacity to live in salt water, and the scattering of floating seeds with water currents.

Ocean and the staff of the Réserve had not yet been able to go diving to ascertain the effects of the hurricane on the underwater milieu.

One thing that is certain is that this milieu directly suffered from the effects of Irma, given the intensity of the storm surge and pollution from sediments. Among the expected damage, one can list the tearing up of plant beds, due to the movement of great quantities of sand and silt, as well as sand covering rocky zones and reefs.
The annual check-up of the sea beds was scheduled for right after Irma hit, and will now take place as soon as visibility in the water, which is now limited due to the presence of sediment, makes it possible.
The scientific department already knows that the results will be different than usual, and that the appearance of most sites will have been disturbed: species and mobile individuals displaced — fish, crustaceans, shellfish — as well as the mortality and fragmentation of fixed fauna, such as coral and sponges.
This fragmentation, begun artificially for the creation of nurseries, is not necessarily negative and can give way to the creation of healthy new colonies in a few years time. Another eventual positive consequence is that the strong waves and sand have reduced the surface occupied by algae competing with the coral, which on the other hand risk suffering from the high ocean water temperature at the moment.
When the water hovers at 84°F, the coral risk to expulse the micro algae zooxanthele which feeds them, thus loosing a primary source of nourishment, which translates to a major phenomenon of bleaching of the coral.

The question concerning the presence of debris of all kinds remains suspended for the moment and a project is planned for early November to evaluate the quantities and study the means available to cleanup the underwater milieu.

In additional to environmental considerations, safety is also an essential aspect when it comes to removing all debris.
A piece of metal left lying around becomes a dangerous projectile once again during the next hurricane.
The number of containers that ended up in the most unlikely places will have to be cut into small pieces in order to be removed.
A hard job, but it must be done.

There is at least some excellent news — the disappearance of the old “road to the dump” provides an opportunity to rehabilitate the coastline along Grandes Cayes and make it open to the public.
Planned for a long time at this site where sea turtles lay their eggs, this project will finally see the light of day, thanks to Irma.

Even though we don’t want to thank this storm for much else!

The buoy that can be seen stationed off of the beach in Grandes Cayes floated over from Saint Barthélemy after its chain broke
. It is a demarcation buoy from the Réserve Marine of our sister island.