Dr Lowell Lewis Comments on Sand Mining Causing Environmental Degradation at Foxes Bay

This is a travesty. We have been blessed with the gift of millions of tons of building materials at Trants and Plymouth, yet we have the ignorance to destroy one of the most beautiful safe beaches in the Caribbean.

Foxes Bay is a beach that is safer than Old Road Bay and Isles Bay, as it lies in an area of lower risk from exposure to volcanic hazards. Not to mention that it is the most important beach for the turtles that come to Montserrat every year. Turtles do not need the implied assistance in seeking habitats to lay their eggs. Also, the science is there to support the nesting habits of turtles which shows that the depth of sand in which a turtles lays her eggs can often times mean the difference between male and female turtles being hatched. A slight variation in temperature is all it takes.

I took the photograph shown below, last January, and have been boasting to potential investors, that it is only a matter of time before large cruise ships come to Montserrat regularly, and that day tours for their passengers will always include Foxes Foxes Bay.