THE OPERATORS of one of Barbados’ leading attractions, used by Barbadians and visitors, have intensified their monitoring mechanisms as part of efforts to ensure the island is kept informed of the threat from Sargassum seaweed on the West Coast.
The plan was outlined by Atlantis Submarines general manager Roseanne Myers. While noting that the influx of the seaweed had not affected the company’s operations, Myers also said it was untrue that the seaweed was everywhere.
Atlantis officials said they journeyed one mile off the west of Barbados and that this “gold” Coast, which is home to some of the most luxurious properties, has been minimally affected so far, in comparison to the East and South Coasts, which hae taken the brunt of the impact.
“Though the West Coast where we dive has been unaffected, our safety team has met to discuss and put monitoring mechanisms in place. In our assessment the Sargassum invastion is not likely to have a serious effect on the submarine tour,” Myers said.
“We have been experiencing the bump in business from Crop Over 2015 and this has remained strong for the first few weeks in August. No Sargassum sorrows here. We dive from 50 to 150 feet below the surface and therefore as the seaweed is mainly a surface dweller, the underwater and visibility down to that depth is unaffected.”
She added: “On the surface, the submarine can operate anywhere and with the surface control boat always on alert, if there are areas of seaweed, the submarine will be directed simply not to emerge or submerge in the midst of it. So far, the most we have seen are a few handfuls, at worst.”
Myers said Atlantis was “prepared to sound the alert if we were to detect a change that our other west coast tourism partners need to be aware of”. (PR/SC)
