Shifting Sands at Doctor's Cave Part 2

In March 2016, I wrote a blog post "Shifting Sands at Doctor's Cave" about how Doctor's Cave became a beach and how it is affected by weather events. Recently, on the night of February 5, 2024, a very active cold front swept across Jamaica's North Coast, bringing high winds and rough seas. It shifted the sand again, exposing more of the walkway than I have ever seen, and piling up more sand at the eastern end.

The lifeguard stands were damaged - the nearest one beyond repair. The railings on the western groyne were torn away. 

The railings the evening
before the storm

Waves continued to pound
the railings for 2 days 

The currents, winds and waves will no doubt restore the beach over time, but what is happening below the water surface is of greater concern. The reefs are under threat. 2023 was another year of serious coral bleaching because of high water temperature. When I snorkelled in November, I saw that most of the staghorn coral was dead and many of the slower growing corals were bleached. Even living staghorn coral would not have been able to withstand the pounding waves, but the little broken off pieces would be able to start new colonies. Not so with dead coral. 2023 was also a year in which there was a disease of the black-spined sea urchins which are essential to the health of the reef because they clean algae off the corals. Parrot fish also clean algae off the corals and nibble dead coral, turning it into sand. However, their numbers are greatly depleted because people continue to eat them and therefore fishermen continue to catch them.

The combined effect of these events is likely to lead to total destruction of the reef, and the protection which it currently gives to the coastline will be lost.