In the wake of the complete and utter astonishment that swept the nation when it was revealed that a Ministry of Transport project to save the Grand Riviere beach from coastal erosion managed to crush thousands of baby leatherback turtles comes the usual ham-handed damage control:

The Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources says it is working with the relevant agencies to save a turtle nesting site in Grande Riviere, following its partial destruction during excavation works by the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure.

 In a statement, the Ministry said it was advised that experts from both the Forestry Division and the EMA determined that if emergency work was not conducted on the area, which became vulnerable to complete destruction from erosion, marine wildlife would not only have been affected, but also the surrounding infrastructure.

This, it said, could have led to injury and even loss of human life.

Nevertheless, the Ministry said in its efforts to halt the degradation of the area, some turtle eggs and hatchlings were “negatively affected.”

Among the areas in direct danger of erosion was the Mt. Plaisir Estate Restaurant and Hotel, one of the most popular tourist accommodations during the turtle nesting season.

Those dead baby turtles sure were “negatively affected”. Well said.

I don’t suppose they want to tell us why they waited until hatching season to treat with such a longstanding problem.